COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Kedah, Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

— Background: When a pandemic hits, creating herd immunity would be the best public health measure available where it takes a minimum amount of the population to be infected and healed for the strategy to work. However, letting an outbreak in a large-scale population take place and resolve naturally would be a catastrophic event. Vaccination has allowed the strategy to work similarly, with way lesser risk posed to the population. Since the COVID-19 vaccine is made available in 2021, many countries in the world have started their vaccination program, aiming to immunize as many of their citizens, to curb the infections. Even so, getting everyone on board is a challenge, as quite a number are hesitant towards the vaccine. Material and Methods: This study explores the factors of hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine among the Malaysian population, using an in-depth interview method. The factors were grouped based on the Vaccine Hesitancy Determinant Matrix of the SAGE Working Group. Results: The study identified factors contributing to hesitancy consisting of contextual influences such as low education level and socioeconomic status. Misguided understanding of COVID-19 is another glaring factor since the pieces of information were collected from various sources such as peers, mass media, and social media platforms. Also, there were concerns over the safety, efficacy, and side effects of the vaccine itself considering that the vaccine is still in its infancy. Other isolated factors include lack of trust in the rulers and difficulty with accessibility and transportation to vaccination centers. Conclusion: This study provides an insight into the underlying cause of vaccination hesitancy which could be useful for relevant authorities in making sound planning and decision in tackling the issue.