Preprint Article Version 2 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Associated Oral Cholera Vaccine Hesitancy in a Cholera Endemic Country, the Democratic Republic of Congo

Arsene Daniel Nyalundja
ORCID logo ,
Patrick Musole Bugeme
,
Alain Balola Ntaboba
,
Victoire Urbain Hatu’m
,
Guillaume Shamamba Ashuza
,
Jacques Lukenze Tamuzi
ORCID logo ,
Duduzile Ndwandwe
,
Chinwe Iwu-Jaja
ORCID logo ,
Charles Shey Wiysonge
,
Patrick D.M.C. Katoto
*
Version 1 : Received: 29 February 2024 / Approved: 29 February 2024 / Online: 1 March 2024 (08:19:57 CET)
Version 2 : Received: 5 March 2024 / Approved: 5 March 2024 / Online: 6 March 2024 (07:19:44 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Nyalundja, A.D.; Bugeme, P.M.; Ntaboba, A.B.; Hatu’m, V.U.; Ashuza, G.S.; Tamuzi, J.L.; Ndwandwe, D.; Iwu-Jaja, C.; Wiysonge, C.S.; Katoto, P.D.M.C. COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Associated Oral Cholera Vaccine Hesitancy in a Cholera-Endemic Country: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vaccines 2024, 12, 444. Nyalundja, A.D.; Bugeme, P.M.; Ntaboba, A.B.; Hatu’m, V.U.; Ashuza, G.S.; Tamuzi, J.L.; Ndwandwe, D.; Iwu-Jaja, C.; Wiysonge, C.S.; Katoto, P.D.M.C. COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Associated Oral Cholera Vaccine Hesitancy in a Cholera-Endemic Country: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vaccines 2024, 12, 444.

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its enablers would shape community uptake of non-covid vaccines such as oral cholera vaccine (OCV) in the post-COVID-19 era. This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its drivers on OCV hesitancy in a cholera endemic region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We conducted a community-based survey in Bukavu. The survey included characteristics, intention to take OCV and COVID-19, reasons for COVID-19 hesitancy, and thinking and feeling about COVID-19 vaccines. Poisson regression analyses were performed. Of the 1708 respondents, 84.66% and 77.57% were hesitant to OCV alone and to both OCV and COVID-19, respectively. Hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccines rose OCV hesitancy by 12% (crude Prevalence Ratio, [cPR]=1.12, 95%CI[1.03-1.21]). Independent predictors of OCV hesitancy were living in semi-urban area (adjusted Prevalence Ratio [aPR]=1.10, 95%CI[1.03-1.12]), religious refusal of vaccines (aPR=1.06, 95%CI[1.02-1.12]), concerns about vaccine safety (aPR=1.05, 95%CI[1.01-1.11]) and adverse effects (aPR=1.06, 95%CI[1.01-1.12]), as well as poor knowledge (aPR=1.07, 95%CI[1.01-1.14]). Conversely, the belief about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness reduced OCV hesitancy (aPR=0.76, 95%CI[0.62-0.93]). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its drivers exhibiting a significant domino effect on OCV uptake. Addressing vaccine hesitancy through community-based health literacy interventions would likely improve the introduction of novel non-COVID-19 vaccines in post-COVID-19 era.

Keywords

non-COVID-19 vaccine; Vibrio cholerae; Misinformation; South Kivu; Immunization

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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