Assessment of Attitude and Hesitancy Towards Covid-19 Vaccine among Hepatitis B and C Patients in Pakistan

OBJECTIVEThe research aimed to evaluate the attitude and perceptions towards the covid-19 vaccine among Hepatitis B and C patients in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. METHODSA survey-based study was adopted to evaluate the attitude of Hepatitis B and C patients towards immunization against covid-19 in Peshawar (KPK) and Muzaffarabad (AJK) cities of Pakistan. The study continued from January 2020 to February 2021. Participants were also assessed for their perception towards covid-19 vaccination. RESULTSA total of 839 (33.6%) individuals participated in the study. About 52 % of Hepatitis B patients were immunized against Covid-19, whereas the number of Hepatitis C patients was recorded at around 48%. About 53.7 % of participants refused to get the vaccine without any reason. About 63.2% of patients showed concern about the insufficient data available on the vaccine safety and efficacy published by the Public Health Department. Individuals with higher education were observed to be more open towards vaccination then those without a formal education. More than half of the participants (61.5 %) were concerned about the interference of the vaccine with their hepatitis treatment whereas 54.7 % patients refused vaccine because of a poor liver condition. CONCLUSIONSThe data indicated that limited data availability regarding the vaccine efficacy in viral hepatitis patients and negative attitudes of people toward covid-19 vaccination is the main cause of Covid-19 vaccination refusal among hepatitis B and C patients. DESCRIPTORSHepatitis B, Hepatitis C, covid-19, immunization, vaccine refusal, Pakistan.