COVID-19 Vaccines Hesitancy among Universities Staff in the Kurdistan Region/Iraq: A Cross-Sectional Study

Authors

Avin Muhsin Assad Mrs., Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Koya Technical Institute, Erbil Polytechnical University, Koya Kurdistan Region –F.R. Iraq.Follow
Rukhosh Esaq Mekha Mrs., Nursing Department, Koya Technical Institute, Erbil Polytechnical University, Koya, Kurdistan Region –F.R. Iraq
Dawan Jamal Hawezy Mr., School ofMedicine, Koya University, Koya KOY45, Kurdistan Region –F.R. Iraq
Azhi Aram Kareem Mr., Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Health, Koya University, Koya KOY45, Kurdistan Region –F.R. Iraq.

Corresponding Author

Aveen Muhsin Asaad

Authors ORCID

0000-0002-9252-923X

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in Wuhan, China, and become a pandemic quickly. The disease affected the lifestyle and damaged socio-economic status due to prevention measures. These measures had benefits at the time but did not stop the spread of the virus, so vaccination was another strategy to prevent the spread of the virus. This study aimed to explore the COVID-19 vaccines hesitancy among Universities staff in the Kurdistan Region/Iraq. Methods: A survey which consisted of four sections prepared and social media groups and emails were used to recruit universities staff in the Kurdistan Region/Iraq. The survey was created by google forms. Then, the SPSS program was used for data analysis. Results: The male 486 (67.3%) participates were more and most were in the age group of 36-45 (41.6%). Overall, this study recruited 961 universities staff. Data analysis was performed for the unvaccinated 722 participants. The majority of participants were willing to vaccinate 425 (58.9%) and prefer the Pfizer vaccine more. Surprisingly, most of the participants did not believe in the vaccine's rumors 432 (59.8%). Conclusions: The COVID-19 vaccination is to prevent morbidity and mortality. However, hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccines has been stated worldwide. The main reason is the spreading of misinformation and false rumors about the vaccine and social media is the center for spreading these rumors as this study described.

Keywords

COVID-19; vaccine; social media; vaccine hesitancy; Kurdistan region

How to Cite This Article

Assad, Avin Muhsin Mrs.; Mekha, Rukhosh Esaq Mrs.; Hawezy, Dawan Jamal Mr.; and Kareem, Azhi Aram Mr. (2023) "COVID-19 Vaccines Hesitancy among Universities Staff in the Kurdistan Region/Iraq: A Cross-Sectional Study," Polytechnic Journal: Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59341/2707-7799.1735

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Publication Date

9-1-2023