Most of the pregnant women and mothers across the world say that they would receive a Covid 19 vaccine and even vaccinate their children, according to a survey by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The results were published online in the European Journal of Epidemiology.
The researchers said that vaccine acceptance was highest in the Philippines, India and Latin America. It was lowest in Australia, the US and Russia. The survey said that 52 per cent of the pregnant women said that they would accept the vaccine if given a 90 per cent vaccine efficacy. It said that 73.4 per cent of non-pregnant women pointed out that they would receive the vaccination. The researchers said that 69.2 per cent of the women (pregnant and non-pregnant), were for vaccinating their children.
Acceptance
The researchers said that vaccine acceptance varied by country. In India, Latin American countries and the Philippines, above 60 per cent of pregnant women were positive towards the vaccine. It was 78 per cent among non- pregnant women. Meanwhile, the acceptance was much lower in Russia, Australia and the US. The survey showed below 45 per cent among pregnant women and below 56 per cent among non-pregnant women.
Attitudes towards vaccines
In the survey, 53 per cent of the women expressed confidence that a nationally approved Covid -19 vaccine would be safe. It said that 60.4 per cent believed that such a vaccine would be effective and protecting most people who receive the vaccine.
It showed that about 85.8 per cent of the women surveyed thought it was important for their own country
Reluctance
The major three reasons for pregnant women to decline COVID-19 vaccination are;
They did not want to expose their developing baby to any possible harmful side effects
They were concerned that approval of the vaccine was rushed for political reasons
They want some more data to believe in the safety and effectiveness of the drug in children.
Harvard Chan School’s Julia Wu led the researchers. The other researchers include Michelle Ngirbabul, Malia Skjefte, Daniel Escudero, Sonia Hernandez Diaz and Oluwasefunmi Akeju.
