Comparison of Vaccine Acceptance between COVID- 19 and Seasonal Influenza among Pregnant Women, in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Influenza is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and pregnant women are at a higher risk of severe complications than the general population. Influenza could spread alongside COVID-19. The study aim to evaluate and contrast the levels of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccination with the seasonal influenza vaccine among Saudi Arabian expectant mothers. This observational qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia in July 2022. Probability simple random sampling techniques were employed to select the population. Data was collected through an online distributed Google form questionnaire based on the Health Beliefs Model. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). A total of 1,790 respondents were included in this study. Most of our participants were between 25-29 years (32.1%), and 28.7% were aged between 30-34 years. Most participants did not have any chronic illness (88.9%). Diabetes was the most commonly reported chronic disease among respondents. 45.1% disagreed that the seasonal influenza vaccine made the pregnant lady more likely to have a severe illness, and 43.1% disagreed with the same principle when receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, more than half of the participants disagreed with the statement that Seasonal influenza vaccination is unsafe, and 54% disagreed with the statement that COVID-19 vaccination is unsafe (P value =0.024). Results concluded that the level of acceptance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine (96.1%) was significantly higher than the level of acceptance to receive the influenza vaccine among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Copyright © 2022 The International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Allied Sciences (IJPRAS). Open Access - This article is under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)