ABSTRACT
Aim: Practices such as the use of masks, cleaning measures, and
social distancing have come to the fore to prevent the COVID-19
pandemic. In addition to this, the most important way to fight the
epidemic seems to be vaccination. However, ”vaccine hesitancy” is seen
as an important obstacle to attempts to control the pandemic. With this
study, we have aimed to evaluate the effects of having inadequate or
incorrect information, one of the possible determinants of attitudes
towards the COVID-19 vaccine.
Study Design: A cross-sectional design was used.
Methods: The data were collected via an online questionnaire
from patients who agreed to participate in the study. Sociodemographic
Data Form, Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 (THLS-32) and Anti-Vaccine
Scale are filled by 496 participants in total.
Results: According to the results of our study, 7.5% of the
participants stated that they would not be vaccinated and 14.3% are
indecisive. We have found a negative correlation between vaccine refusal
and health literacy, thus confirming the main hypothesis of our study.
Also, education year was a negative predictor of vaccine hesitation.
Conclusions: Currently, the most important approach in fighting
the pandemic is the vaccination of society. Having the right information
is extremely important to fight vaccine refusal attitudes. The fight
against vaccination requires joint efforts from governments and media
resources, including social media.
Keywords: COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine, health literacy, vaccine
hesitancy.