Intention to receive new vaccines post-COVID-19 pandemic among adults and health workers in Lusaka, Zambia.

OBJECTIVES

To estimate intention to receive newly introduced adult vaccines among community members and healthcare workers (HCWs) in Lusaka, Zambia in the context of previous COVID-19 vaccine uptake and perceived disease threat and, identify trusted sources of vaccine information.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey among a random sample of community members and a convenience sample of HCWs from 13 November to 15 December 2023. We evaluated future vaccination intentions by self-reported COVID-19 vaccine uptake, community role, vaccine type (COVID-19 booster, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, pneumonia, diarrheal disease) and source of information using adjusted, mixed effects Poisson regression and adjusted probability models.

RESULTS

We enrolled 395 (79.2 %) community members and 104 (20.8 %) HCWs (N = 499). There was high intention to receive new vaccines among community members (mean score = 83.6 %) and HCWs (mean score = 86.0 %), though intentions varied by vaccine type. Prior COVID-19 vaccine uptake (0, 1, 2+ doses) impacted intentions to receive a novel COVID-19 vaccine among community members (43.3 %, 62.8 %, 79.7 %, respectively) but were not associated with any other vaccine types. Intention to receive a vaccine was strongly associated with perceived disease severity and susceptibility as well as age, sex, education, and household income. Social media as a vaccine information source was associated with lower overall vaccine intention among community members, while health system and community sources were associated with higher overall intention to receive new vaccines. Government was a highly trusted source of vaccine information among all participants.

CONCLUSION

Prior COVID-19 vaccination uptake did not predict future non-COVID-19 vaccine intention in Zambia. Perceived threat and select socio-demographic factors were key predictors, suggesting the need for rapid research to design communication strategies and identify trusted sources per target population.