Beliefs associated with the use of vaccines against COVID-19

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, approved vaccines are a valid strategy to contain the spread of COVID-19 and prevent mortality caused by the disease; however, there are still people who do not get vaccinated. There many factors that may lead a person to be vaccinated or not, highlighting in the literature the myths or beliefs surrounding the origin and effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19. The present research aims to know the beliefs held by a group of Venezuelans regarding the benefits and disadvantages of the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the reasons why it is believed that people do not get vaccinated against this virus. Framed in a qualitative research with the participation of 94 subjects with an age of 40 years in average, a survey with open questions was applied online. Content analysis was used to analyze the results. It was found that among the advantages of getting the vaccine, it avoids complications, favors immunity that prevents the disease, avoids death and avoids contagion. The most mentioned disadvantages are the production of side effects, increased risk of COVID-19, little experimentation or clinical trials and complications due to pre-existing diseases. Among the reasons for not getting vaccinated were fear, contraindications or side effects due to pre-existing disease, distrust and ignorance/lack of information. With these findings, more objective instruments can be created to evaluate people's beliefs about vaccines - COVID-19 - and to design pro-vaccination interventions.

Keywords: vaccines, COVID-19, advantages, disadvantages, reasons.