Acceptance and willingness to pay for COVID‐19 vaccines among pregnant women in Vietnam

Nguyen, Long Hoang; Hoang, Men Thi; Nguyen, Lam Duc; Ninh, Ly Thi; Nguyen, Ha Thi Thu; Nguyen, Anh Duy; Vu, Linh Gia; Vu, Giang Thu; Doan, Linh Phuong; Latkin, Carl A.; Tran, Bach Xuan; Ho, Cyrus S.H.; Ho, Roger C.M.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess acceptance of COVID‐19 vaccination and the willingness to pay (WTP) for it, and investigate associated factors among pregnant women in Vietnam. METHODS: Cross‐sectional survey of pregnant women in two obstetric hospitals in Hanoi and Ca Mau provinces, Vietnam. Data on acceptance and WTP for COVID‐19, demographic characteristics, maternal characteristics, and risk perceptions toward COVID‐19 were collected. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were performed to identify factors associated with the acceptance and WTP for the vaccine. RESULTS: Of 651 pregnant women, 60.4% accepted to receive the vaccine, and 82.6% of the total pregnant women were willing to pay for a COVID‐19 vaccine with the mean amount of WTP of USD 15.2 (SD ± 27.4). The most common reason for refusing vaccination was “Worry about the safety of the vaccine” (66.9%) in Hanoi and “The preventive effect of COVID‐19 is low” (45.2%) in Ca Mau. A higher income, having children, self‐perceived risk of COVID‐19 infection, and perceived risk to friends were associated with a higher likelihood of acceptance and WTP for the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing COVID‐19 vaccination and resource mobilisation among pregnant women in Vietnam is feasible, although communication programmes to improve risk perception and awareness about vaccine should be developed for facilitating acceptance of the vaccine.