Association of vaccine awareness and confidence on the influenza vaccination status of Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia residents

While the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health has made seasonal influenza vaccination available for several years, there remains a scarcity of vaccination coverage reports outside of the capital city. Understanding factors that affect vaccine uptake is important in developing strategies to improve coverage. This analytic cross-sectional study utilized data from 1377 adult residents randomly selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure from the three administrative sectors of Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Estimates of influenza vaccine coverage were determined for various demographic groups. Logistic regression was applied to determine the associations among the respondents' awareness on influenza vaccination services, their confidence on the influenza vaccine efficacy and safety and their vaccination status. The estimated influenza vaccination coverage was 44.15% (95% CI = 41.55; 46.79). The proportion of residents who received the influenza vaccine differed between demographic groups. Al Ahsa residents who were aware that influenza vaccine is available and those who were aware that it is available for free were 2.7 and 6.3 times more likely to be immunized (p < .001) compared to those who were unaware. Residents who were confident that it is effective in preventing influenza and its complications were 3.6 times more like to be vaccinated while those who were confident that the vaccine is safe were 4.5 times more likely to be immunized (p < .001). Seasonal influenza coverage in Al Ahsa remains low despite the availability of free immunization in the government health facilities. Awareness about vaccine availability and confidence in vaccine efficacy and safety were important determinants of vaccination status.

Automated summary

The study reveals a low seasonal influenza vaccination coverage of 44.15% in the Al Ahsa region of Saudi Arabia. Factors influencing vaccination decisions mainly include awareness of vaccine availability and confidence in vaccine efficacy and safety.