Infodemic as subsequent defiance to manage pandemic: Assessing the reasons behind COVID-19 vaccine refusal.

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 is a pandemic, which originated in 2019 and is continuing to spread with new variants. It is believed that the use of vaccines can help bring better outcomes, however, the people of Karachi have serious reservations about the vaccines because of the widespread myths.

Methodology: The data has been collected in a sample size of 550 participants to find out the correlation between the acceptances of the COVID-19 vaccine. It shows the association between exposure to the virus, administration of a vaccine, reasons behind acceptance and rejection of vaccine, and feared outcomes from May 2020 to June 2021. Results: The results show that 401 people were vaccinated while people received vaccination for better protection, and to retain their salary and travel nationally or internationally. For those who refused to get vaccinated, the majority feared that the rumor about infertility may be true while some did not consider it important. The types of rumors included planting chips, death in two years, infertility, and side effects. Some people feared side effects such as body pain, infections, and infertility. Discussion: As compared to previous researches, the strong anti-vaccine sentiments in the people of Pakistan may be reducing as more people continue to get vaccinated every day. However, there is still a need to educate the mass population about the benefits of vaccines to combat the myths and increase the ratio of the overall vaccinated population