COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Hesitancy among Pregnant Women in Developing Countries

Abstract

Background: Covid-19 has posed various health challenges all over the world. Pregnant ladies are a major part of the society affected by this viral infection. In the spreading of the virus, vaccination is the best precautionary measure. However, many pregnant women in developing countries are reluctant to uptake the vaccine as they believe it can affect the health of their fetus. This is due to the lack of information and knowledge regarding the safety of vaccines. Objective: Identifying the factors that influence pregnant women in developing nations' low vaccination rates for the COVID-19 vaccine and estimating the proportion of these women who are hesitant to receive the vaccine are the objectives. Methodology: We performed a systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) on PUBMED and GOOGLE SCHOLAR, specifically using peer-reviewed articles examining risk factors for suicidal thoughts and attempts in transgender people. Articles that were imported in Zotero were 1090. After excluding three duplicates, the remaining articles were screened based on titles and abstracts, and then full-text availability criteria were applied. Applying inclusion and exclusion criteria provides the final articles selected for our research analysis. Seven papers were selected to study risk factors for suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. Results: Seven papers were selected out of 1900 articles from search criteria. Out of these, four are based in Pakistan, two studies were conducted in Nepal, and 1 in south India. The age range of participants was 16-62 years of age. The total number of participants in the included six studies is 1559, and one used a non-probability sampling technique. All the factors that contributed to a high prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts in transgender are highlighted. Conclusions: The reluctance of vaccine uptake in expecting women was found relatively high in developing countries. This is because of many socioeconomic factors including domestic pressure, social myths about vaccination, lack of knowledge, fear of risks, etc. This also depicts the necessity of intervention required for proper guidance and counseling of pregnant women as well as their families.