Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar 9;18(3):e0282523.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282523. eCollection 2023.

A cross-sectional analysis of the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy in Iraq

Saad S J Alatrany  1 , Ashraf Muwafa Falaiyah  2 , Raheem Hammlee Maarij Zuhairawi  2 , Ruth Ogden  3 , Hasan ALi Sayyid ALdrraji  2 , Abbas S S Alatrany  4   5 , Dhiya Al-Jumeily  5
Affiliations

A cross-sectional analysis of the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy in Iraq

Saad S J Alatrany et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Vaccine hesitancy poses a significant risk to global recovery from COVID-19. To date however, there is little research exploring the psychological factors associated with vaccine acceptability and hesitancy in Iraq.

Aim: To explore attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination in Iraq. To establish the predictors of vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy in an Iraqi population.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 7,778 participants completed an online questionnaire exploring their vaccination status, likelihood of infection, perceived severity infection, benefits of vaccine, barriers to vaccine, anticipated regret, subjective norms, and trust in government.

Findings: Vaccination rates increased with age and were greater in males, those who were married, divorced or widowed, those with children and those with underlying conditions. Vaccine hesitancy was widespread with 61.40% of unvaccinated individuals reported an unwillingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. In unvaccinated groups, vaccine hesitancy was associated with lower trust in the government, more negative social norms, greater perceived barriers to vaccination and reduced perceived benefits.

Conclusions: There is significant COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Iraq. Public health institutions should be aware of the influence of demographic factors, as well as personal beliefs and social norms, on individuals' decisions to vaccinate. Public health messaging should therefore aim to be tailored to address the concerns of citizens.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Response frequencies of unvaccinated participants attitudes towards future covid-19 vaccination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Le TT, Andreadakis Z, Kumar A, Román RG, Tollefsen S, Saville M, Mayhew S. The COVID-19 vaccine development landscape. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2020. May 1;19(5):305–6. doi: 10.1038/d41573-020-00073-5 - DOI - PubMed
    1. MacDonald NE. Vaccine hesitancy: Definition, scope and determinants. Vaccine. 2015. Aug 14;33(34):4161–4. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.04.036 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization (WHO). Ten Threats to Global Health in 2019. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-... [accessed 20 September 2021].
    1. Majid U, Ahmad M. The factors that promote vaccine hesitancy, rejection, or delay in parents. Qualitative Health Research. 2020. Sep;30(11):1762–76. doi: 10.1177/1049732320933863 - DOI - PubMed
    1. de Swart R, Takeda M. Editorial overview: combating measles during a COVID-19 pandemic. Current Opinion in Virology. 2020. Apr 1;41:iii–vii. doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2020.08.008 - DOI - PubMed

Substances