Malaysian's perception on who should get Covid-19 Vaccination first?
Creators: name: Teh, Hoon Shien
name: Leong, Chin Tho
name: Lau, June Fei Wen
name: Woon, Yuan Liang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: COVID-19
Vaccination
Malaysia

description: <strong>Introduction </strong>Vaccination for Covid-19 pandemic is highly anticipated. Initial vast demand for vaccines may cause limited supply, therefore prioritization of population groups could be needed to optimize public health impact. In order to develop effective evidence-based framework for vaccines allocation, exploration on general public’s preferences are equally important. Hence, this study aims to collate Malaysian’s perception on vaccines allocation. <strong>Methodology</strong> Literature review was done to identify priority groups to receive vaccine during pandemic. A web-based selfadministered survey was developed utilizing the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) and disseminated to Malaysian adults. Cross sectional data was collected throughout July 2020. Besides sociodemographic information, respondents were asked to rate the importance of COVID-19 vaccine for different priority groups, using a 5-points Likert scale. For the assessment of willingness-to-pay, respondents were asked to give the maximum price that they were willing to pay in the scenarios of sufficient and limited vaccine supplies. An interim analysis was done to explore associations between sociodemographic factors and importance level for the priority groups by logistic regression. <strong>Results </strong>[Refer to Poster]. <strong>Discussion / Conclusion </strong>The perception of importance level for each group did not differ by sociodemographic determinants, except for priority group with low household income. The top three prioritized groups were health care worker, essential workers, elderly or anyone with comorbidity. These main groups were in line with the priority population stated in the WHO global allocation framework for COVID-19 products. Also, the same groups have been highlighted in National Preparedness Plans during pandemic influenza across worldwide. The rationale for prioritisation of healthcare workers would be twofold: (1) they are at increased risk of acquiring infection and/or passing it to vulnerable patients, (2) they are required for quality medical care and good patient outcomes by treating those affected by the disease. During this Covid-19 pandemic, it was apparent that elderly and those with comorbidity were infected severely. Hence, this vulnerable group was expected to be prioritized, similar to previous pandemic plans. From this study, the mean maximum price the respondents were willing to pay for COVID-19 vaccine was relatively low (below USD 60) compared to USD184.72 from a study in Chile4 . This individual valuation assessment can be used as benchmark for vaccine introduction at our local setting. As a conclusion, Malaysian public’s perceptions on vaccines allocation were fairly consistent across groups. The findings from this study will be the basis to conduct patient-preference analysis using Discrete Choice Experiment to determine the main attributes for vaccines uptake in the future. Also, this will help our country in the development of vaccine management plan to ensure successful uptake by the majority.