Knowledge and Perceptions of COVID-19 Vaccines amongst Pregnant Women of Karachi: A comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: The current study aimed to understand the knowledge, attitude, and perceptions of COVID-19 vaccinations amongst both the vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women of Karachi, Pakistan.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed whereby pregnant women were enrolled based on a strict eligibility criterion from a government and a private tertiary-care hospital in Karachi using purposive sampling. The study was conducted between June and August 2021. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the acquired data using STATA software (version 17.0).
Results:  A total of 222 unvaccinated and 231 vaccinated pregnant women were enrolled in the study. A relatively larger proportion of unvaccinated women lack formal education (37.8%) compared to vaccinated women (17.3%). A mere 3.6% of unvaccinated women are employed, whereas among vaccinated women, the employment rate was 17.7% with the difference being statistically significant (p-value <0.001). Nearly half of the unvaccinated women (47.7%) reported not knowing how effective the vaccine is, compared to only 13.9% of vaccinated women, a statistically significant difference (p-value of <0.001). The predominant reason for vaccine hesitancy among these women is the fear of side effects on both the mother and child's health, with a significant 68.5% affirming this concern.
Conclusion: To address vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women in Pakistan, establishing trust and implementing targeted awareness campaigns is crucial. This will be the key steps in the acceptance of vaccines and reaching herd immunity at a faster pace.