Analysis of people’s attitude toward COVID-19 vaccine and its information sources in Thailand

Analysis of people’s attitude Analysis of people’s attitude toward COVID-19 vaccine toward COVID-19 vaccine and and its information sources in Thailand its information sources in Thailand

As health systems across the world develop and innovate to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 situation, vaccination has obviously taken on a paramount role in controlling the pandemic and allowing countries to move into the endemic stage. Yet simply being vaccinated is not a panacea, and while many choose vaccination, there can also be hesitancy to receive the shots, with people in this segment of society declaring multiple reasons for their hesitancy, or sometimes refusal, regarding vaccines.

Assistant Professor Dr. Benjamas Suksatit collaborated with a team of researchers from Japan to investigate vaccine hesitancy in Thailand. Respondents were drawn from a pool of more than 500,000 people registered on an internet research panel operated by an organization from Tokyo, Japan. A sample size of 500 was determined and data from these respondents were analyzed.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a large majority of respondents had already been vaccinated or were willing to be vaccinated. This contrasted with a previous Thai study, as well as studies in other contexts across the globe. Of the relatively smaller proportion of respondents who were either hesitant or refused to have the vaccine, analysis was able to explain the relationships between these feelings and several variables. Females, under-19s and those with lower educational or employment experience made up a majority of these. It was found that those who were hesitating or refusing vaccines had concerns about safety or about side effects. However, this segment of the sample also used appropriate sources of information less often than other respondents. For example, information published by the Ministry of Health, medical associations or public health centers had been accessed at greater rates by those willing to be or already vaccinated than respondents who expressed hesitancy or refusal.

The prevalence of the Omicron strain, which was prominent as this study was being undertaken, was likely responsible for higher rates of willingness to be vaccinated. Moreover, by the time of this study, there were many more vaccinated people around the world, and information on vaccination was much more readily accessible. However, the relationship between vaccine hesitancy and low rates of reliable information access means that public agencies need to focus on these groups, ensuring that they have access to reliable and valid information, enhancing their ability to make more informed decisions.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Benjamas Suksatit