Knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination in Vietnam: A population survey

Background COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is essential in controlling the virus. Vaccine knowledge influences vaccine acceptance and understanding this is vital in planning immunization strategies. Objectives This study aimed to examine the public COVID-19 vaccine knowledge levels and predictors of low knowledge levels in Vietnam. Methods A cross-sectional, community-based survey was conducted between 16 April and 16 July 2021. To examine the community knowledge levels regarding the vaccine essentialness and efficacy, a self-administered questionnaire was developed and was comprised of seven questions with five Likert scale responses corresponding to the levels of agreement/disagreement with the provided statements and scores ranging from 0-4. An individual’s knowledge score above the mean score of all participants was defined as ‘acceptable’ and that below was defined as ‘low’. Results Among 1708 respondents, the mean age was 34.3 ± 13.4 years, 942 (55.2%) were females, and 797 (46.7%) had acceptable knowledge levels. Age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=0.984, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.972-0.995, P=0.005) and being vaccinated against COVID-19 (AOR=0.653, 95%CI: 0.431–0.991, P=0.045) were inversely associated with lower knowledge levels. Those with a Gapminder income of $8