Evaluating COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy of the Incompletely Vaccinated Individuals During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: Vaccination is the most effective way to fight communicable diseases. Encouraging vaccine literacy is crucial for promoting COVID-19 vaccination. We aimed to assess vaccine literacy among those who did not complete the recommended COVID-19 vaccine schedule. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ankara Province's & Ccedil;ankaya District between March and May 2022. Individuals (n=252 315) who had received two COVID-19 vaccine doses but not the third by February 2022 were identified. Using a 99% confidence interval, alpha=0.05, and d=5%, the sample size was determined as 636, assuming a 40% inadequate COVID-19 vaccine literacy rate. The first part of the questionnaire included demographic details, COVID-19 history, and reasons for vaccine delay and the second part contained items from the COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy Scale. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used in the univariate analysis of the obtained data, and multiple linear regression analysis was used in the multivariate analysis. Results: 62% of the participants were female, aged 21 to 94, with a mean (SD) age of 51.0 (+/- 13.6) and a median of 52. 52.8% (n=317) had no prior COVID-19 history. Unmarried individuals and those under 40 scored lower in functional and communicative/critical skills. Those who had seasonal flu vaccine had higher scores in functional skills, while non-COVID-19 cases had higher scores in communicative/critical skills and overall scale. 87.7% (n=526) chose CoronaVac (Sinovac Life Sciences, Beijing, China) for the first two COVID-19 doses. Reasons for missing the booster dose included "breastfeeding/pregnancy", "lack of follow-up opportunity", and "previous COVID-19 contraction". Conclusion: Encouraging vaccination against COVID-19 and increasing health literacy levels is recommended so that individuals can understand misinformation and inaccurate data in the media.