Public Acceptance, Attitude and Perception Toward Covid-19 Vaccination in Mosul City; Iraq

Background: No doubt the recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic represents the most serious health and life threats globally. Vaccination against the disease is considered the cornerstone for controlling the disease. Aim of the study is to explore public attitudes, perception toward vaccination against COVID-19 infection. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by using a modified questionnaire form which was translated into Arabic language and transformed into a Google form. The form was disseminated to the population online using different platforms in Mosul City over a period of one month during November 2021 and the participants were volunteered for every individual above 18 years old. Results: The number of respondents was 816. At time of data collection it was found that more than half of participants (54.29%) had been infected by covid-19-virus. About two third (63.85%) were vaccinated against covid-19-virus. The majority of participants (83.33%) were suspicious about the vaccine’s side effect. On other hand, half of them (50.25%) thought that COVID-19 pandemic cannot be eradicated even if everyone in the society maintains the preventive measures without vaccination. More than half (56.37%) thought that the vaccines may contain heavy metals or odd materials. While, 25.37% of them believed that it may cause autism, 44.36% assumed that it may cause infertility and 41.30% expected that the vaccine may make genetic changes among humans. Conclusions: The participants of this study had fears about the safety of the vaccine although about half of them realized that the disease cannot be eradicated with preventive measures only. Also considerable proportions of participants believed the myths that related to the presence of heavy metals in the vaccine or it may cause autism or infertility. It is recommended to improve health literacy of the general public by developing a health education programs.