Background: Vaccination is one of the most reliable interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although pregnant women's attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination are well studied, husbands' views toward COVID-19 vaccination for these women have not been surveyed. We aimed to determine the rates and associated factors of accepting attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy among Thai pregnant women and their spouses and to evaluate the actual rate of vaccination during pregnancy among these women.
Methods: A prospective survey was conducted at a tertiary care center in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 176 Thai pregnant woman/husband dyads who attended our antenatal care clinic between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2021 were consecutively recruited for evaluations of their accepting attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. After delivery, data on COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy among pregnant women were extracted from the hospital's electronic database.
Results: After exclusion of five pregnant women with prepregnancy COVID-19 vaccination, 171 women and 176 male partners were included. The rates of accepting attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy were 60.8% and 61.4%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that having a husband who favored COVID-19 vaccination for his wife was independently associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women (adjusted odds ratio 4.82; 95% confidence interval 2.34, 9.94). However, confidence in vaccine safety was an associated factor of the husband's willingness to have his wife vaccinated for COVID-19 during pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio 12.56; 95% confidence interval 2.35, 67.18). The actual rate of vaccination during pregnancy was 88.3%.
Conclusions: Although the rates of accepting attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy among Thai pregnant women and their spouses were modest, the actual rate of being vaccinated during pregnancy was high.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; Coronavirus disease 2019; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; SARS-CoV-2; Spouses; Vaccine acceptance.
Vaccination is an important tool to fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this study, we investigated the rates and associated factors of accepting attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy among Thai pregnant women and their spouses. The actual rate of vaccination during pregnancy among the enrolled women was also evaluated. We recruited 176 Thai pregnant woman/husband dyads who attended our antenatal care clinic between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2021. The results showed that 60.8% of pregnant women and 61.4% of husbands had accepting attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. Having a husband who favored COVID-19 vaccination for his wife was a significant factor for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women, whereas confidence in vaccine safety was a significant predictor of the husband’s willingness to have his wife vaccinated for COVID-19 during pregnancy. The majority (96.2%) of the women who accepted vaccination were vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy. On the other hand, 76.1% of the women who were initially reluctant to be vaccinated ultimately received COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. The actual rate of being vaccinated among the enrolled women was 88.3%. Given the results of this study, physicians, hospital administrators, and policymakers should focus on those who show vaccine hesitancy or refusal and implement intensive interventions because there is a possibility to change their attitudes if they have more knowledge and gain more trust in the vaccines.
© 2022. The Author(s).