Acceptance Rate of COVID-19 Vaccine and Its Determinants Among Indian Pregnant Women: A Hospital- Based Cross-Sectional Analysis

Background Vaccination is more widespread when the determinants and hesitancy of vaccination are identified, especially in vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women. Pregnant women if infected with COVID-19 are more likely to get severe COVID-19 illness and adverse neonatal outcomes as compared to non-pregnant women. The present study was designed with the aim to estimate the rate of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and to identify the associated factors which influence the vaccine acceptance. Methods This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted in the Obstetrics Department of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, Jharkhand, from February 2022 to April 2022. Our study included 298 pregnant women above 18 years who were willing to participate in the study. Information was collected by face-to-face interview using a structured and pretested questionnaire. Binomial logistic regression (univariate and multivariate) was used to identify the associated factors on vaccination acceptance. Results Among 298 pregnant women, 234 expressed willingness to receive vaccine, giving an acceptance rate of 78.52%. The educational status, ethnicity, occupation of the woman and husband, and type of family showed no significant relationship with the vaccine acceptance. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, the determinants found to be significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women were as follows: Muslim religion (aOR=0.27, CI: 0.12-0.61), gravida >2 (aOR=1.84, CI: 1.30-2.61), and awareness that COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by the government (aOR=3.03, CI: 1.45-6.36). Awareness that COVID-19 infection causes more severe complications in pregnant women than nonpregnant women (aOR=1.89, CI: 0.93-3.87) and hypertension (aOR=0.36, CI: 0.11-1.20) were non-significantly associated. Conclusion The acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination was high in this study and was well received especially by mothers who had knowledge about the importance of vaccination during pregnancy. Concerns about the side effects of vaccination and the possibility of harming the baby were the main reasons for refusal. During prenatal care, health care providers should reinforce the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.