COVID-19 Attitudes and Vaccine Hesitancy among an Agricultural Community in Southwest Guatemala: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Despite offering free-of-charge COVID-19 vaccines starting July 2021, Guatemala has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Latin America. From 28 September 2021 to 11 April 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of community members, adapting a CDC questionnaire to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine acc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Neudy Rojop, Diva M. Calvimontes, Edgar Barrios, Molly M. Lamb, Alejandra Paniagua-Avila, Jose Monzon, Lindsey M. Duca, Chelsea Iwamoto, Anna N. Chard, Melissa Gomez, Kareen Arias, Yannik Roell, Guillermo Antonio Bolanos, Emily Zielinski-Gutierrez, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Maria Renee Lopez, Celia Cordon-Rosales, Edwin J. Asturias, Daniel Olson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-06-01
Series:Vaccines
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/6/1059
Description
Summary:Despite offering free-of-charge COVID-19 vaccines starting July 2021, Guatemala has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Latin America. From 28 September 2021 to 11 April 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of community members, adapting a CDC questionnaire to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine access and hesitancy. Of 233 participants ≥ 12 years, 127 (55%) received ≥1 dose of COVID-19 and 4 (2%) reported prior COVID-19 illness. Persons ≥ 12 years old who were unvaccinated (<i>n</i> = 106) were more likely to be female (73% vs. 41%, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and homemakers (69% vs. 24%, <i>p</i> < 0.01) compared with vaccinated participants (<i>n</i> = 127). Among those ≥18 years, the main reported motivation for vaccination among vaccinated participants was to protect the health of family/friends (101/117, 86%); on the other hand, 40 (55%) unvaccinated persons reported little/no confidence in public health institutions recommending COVID-19 vaccination. Community- and/or home-based vaccination programs, including vaccination of families through the workplace, may better reach female homemakers and reduce inequities and hesitancy.
ISSN:2076-393X