Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception of Urban Indian population towards Corona Virus Vaccination.

BACKGROUND

In COVID-19 vaccination, the government faced considerable challenges in encouraging people to get vaccinated due to misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and communication gaps. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions towards COVID-19 vaccination among the urban population of Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, observational, questionnaire-based study was conducted among the urban population of Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu. The questionnaire, adapted from a previous study, was translated into both English and Tamil and comprised four sections: socio-demographics, knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions. Data were collected through both offline (printed) and online (Google Forms) methods over a one-year period prior to the widespread rollout of mass COVID-19 vaccination programs in India. A total of 402 participants were enrolled, and responses were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The study revealed that 51.24% of participants demonstrated high knowledge, 69.65% had a positive attitude, and 85.82% showed a generally favorable perception toward vaccination. The mean knowledge and attitude scores were 2.45±1.16 and 9.35±3.28, respectively. About 54% of participants agreed that vaccines are safe, while 51% believed that vaccination increased allergic reactions. A majority (57.96%) relied on mass media, alongside social media, as their main source of vaccine-related information. Logistic regression analysis indicated that gender, education, and occupation were not significant predictors of knowledge, attitude, or perception. Age, however, emerged as a significant predictor.

CONCLUSION

The study confirmed that participants had reasonable knowledge and favorable attitudes and perceptions regarding COVID-19 vaccination. Nevertheless, misinformation and unverified content on social media contributed to hesitancy among some individuals.