High coverage and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in two vulnerable areas in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh completed a primary series of COVID-19 vaccinations for about 86 individuals per 100 population as of 5 July 2023. However, ensuring higher coverage in vulnerable areas is challenging. We report on the COVID-19 vaccine uptake and associated factors among adults in two vulnerable areas in Bangladesh. We conducted a cross-sectional study between August and September 2022 in Duaripara, a slum in northeast Dhaka (in-migration site), and Tala, a disaster-prone sub-district in southwest Satkhira (out-migration site). We surveyed 1,239 adults in Duaripara and 1,263 adults in Tala from 625 and 596 randomly selected households, respectively. We reported coverage and examined associations between the uptake and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics using multilevel mixed-effects generalized linear regression models. We checked for spatial autocorrelation to assess geographical patterns in vaccine distribution. First- and second-dose coverage was about 91% and 80.4% in Duaripara and 96.6% and 92.2% in Tala, respectively. Individuals above 40 were more likely to be vaccinated (IRR: 1.12, p-value = 0.04 for Duaripara, and IRR: 1.14, p-value <0.01 for Tala). Professions requiring more outdoor interactions had a higher likelihood of receiving the vaccine. In Tala, television access (IRR: 2.09, p-value <0.01) and micro-credit membership (IRR: 1.50, p-value = 0.05) were positively associated with receiving a booster dose and negatively associated with smart-phone access (IRR: 0.58, p-value = 0.03). Moreover, temporarily migrated respondents were more likely to be unvaccinated (IRR: 0.87, p-value = 0.04). Income was not associated, indicating equitable distribution. Moreover, no geographical clustering was detected. The credit for high COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Bangladesh can be attributed to the country's longstanding success in implementing immunization programs, which relied on community mobilization and effective health education to generate demand. However, to ensure comprehensive coverage in vulnerable areas, targeted interventions can help increase uptake by addressing specific sociodemographic differences.

Fig 1. Study sites.

The map of study sites was plotted in QGIS using shapefiles published by the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) [21]. The shapefiles are publicly accessible.

Fig 2. Vaccinated and unvaccinated respondents in Duaripara.

The map of Duaripara was plotted in QGIS using shapefiles published by the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) [21]. The shapefiles are publicly accessible. During the survey, we collected GPS coordinates of the households where the respondents were resided. Respecting the de-identification policies, we are not sharing the GPS coordinates outside the research team.

Fig 3. Vaccinated and unvaccinated respondents in Tala.

The map of Tala was plotted in QGIS using shapefiles published by the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) [21]. The shapefiles are publicly accessible. During the survey, we collected GPS coordinates of the households where the respondents were resided. Respecting the de-identification policies, we are not sharing the GPS coordinates outside the research team.