Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal among AOU Students in Kuwait and their Families and their Expected Inclination Towards the Acceptance or Refusal of the Vaccine

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the factors influencing the refusal of a coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) vaccine among adult students from Arab Open University in Kuwait (AOU) and their families and to study the trends of reluctant participants. A questionnaire was conducted (n = 691; aged 12 and older). Significant factors and the tendency of hesitant participants to accept or reject the vaccine were explored by applying a cleaning and coding process, a rough set theory (RS), a decision tree (DT) classifier, and a p-value. Overall, 18.4% of the participants reported refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, while 17.2% were uncertain. The study shows that hesitant subjects represent a tendency to accept vaccination. Of the vaccine-refusal participants, subjects aged 18-29, suffer from chronic disease, were infected with COVID-19, were vaccinated against seasonal flu, and had concerns about receiving a COVID-19, representing 44.1%, 21.05%, 16.76%, 54.33%, and 70.08%, respectively. Overall, 18.4% of the participants demonstrated a refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and 17.2% are hesitant. Factors influencing the level of acceptance/rejection of the vaccine were determined. The results showed that hesitant participants have a strong tendency to accept the vaccine (81.82%). Since vaccination is an important strategy to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry of public health must immediately address the significant factors for the acceptance/rejection of the vaccine, as well as the trend of hesitant participants toward the acceptance of the vaccine.