COVID-19 infodemic and Egyptian women vaccine acceptance: a study on the health belief model

Abstract EN

Two years ago, the world health organization who declared that COVID-19 is a pandemic, the first in history where technology and new media are being used on an enormous scale to keep people safe, knowledgeable, up-to-date, and connected.

with all the different media platforms, extreme and groundless information hindered an appropriate public health response.

therefore, the director-general of who stated that the world is not fighting an epidemic; but fighting an infodemic.

infodemic is an overabundance of online and offline information.

it includes intentional attempts to publish wrong information to destabilise the public health response, damage the health systems, and affects mental health, especially among women.

women are more vulnerable to COVID-19 as they are the primary caregivers at home, wives or mothers, frontline healthcare workers, informal sector labourers, workers in different societal sectors, and citizens needing access to healthcare facilities.

there was significant scale rejection with the vaccine's introduction due to false and misleading allegations that negatively influenced people's attitudes towards vaccines, especially among women.

there were claims that the vaccine would affect their reproductive health, and pregnant and breastfeeding women could not get vaccinated.

this study depends on the "health belief model" HBM, widely used in vaccination behaviour, which assumes that people will be vaccinated according to the severity of illness and their belief in the vaccine's effectiveness.

in addition, this model focuses on the perceived barriers to getting a COVID-19 vaccine, including the information from mass media.

this study aims to determine the factors related to Egyptian women's vaccine acceptance and how the usage of social media and false information on media platforms is linked to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Egyptian women.

some believe that it will harm their health, or they plan to get pregnant, and the vaccine will harm them.

results revealed that 86% of the sample were vaccinated, while 14% didn't get vaccinated.

regarding social media use, the data show that unvaccinated women depended on social media platforms (Facebook) as the primary source of information compared to vaccinated women.