Imunização e medo da vacina de COVID-19 em população assistida pela estratégia saúde da família e em ambiente universitário

Abstract

Despite the proven benefits of the available protocols, part of the population still exhibits hesitation or fear of vaccination, which compromises vaccine coverage and the establishment of herd immunity. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the immunization rate and the predictive factors of COVID-19 vaccine fear in the population assisted by the Family Health Strategy (ESF) and in the university community of a city in the interior of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Questionnaires were administered using in-person survey for the ESF population and online survey for the university community, employing the snowball research strategy (free sharing within social networks). In total, 1,896 individuals assisted by the ESF and 312 from the university community participated in the study. The questions covered sociodemographic data, a questionnaire on COVID-19 fear, and questions about personal immunization and that of their children. Vaccine coverage was 99.1% among university volunteers and 83% among those assisted by the ESF. Women in both groups showed greater fear of COVID-19 (p<0.05). However, only women assisted by the ESF reported greater fear of receiving the vaccine (p<0.05). Parents with higher education levels demonstrated a better understanding of the importance of vaccinating their children. On the other hand, younger parents reported greater fear of side effects from vaccination. Among the ESF population, the degree of fear of vaccination was 1.6 times higher among women compared to men. Additionally, the degree of fear was 1.10 times higher for each additional point on the COVID-19 fear scale (physiological domain). Communication strategies and efforts to debunk false beliefs about vaccination are essential to reduce vaccine hesitancy and, consequently, increase immunization rates.