The COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Jordan: a meta-analysis and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose a health and economic burden on the global population with millions of deaths linked to infection with the virus. Vaccination remains the most effective intervention to reduce infection, severity, and hospitalization for COVID-19. However, vaccine hesitancy has emerged as a global phenomenon facing the effective implementation of coronavirus vaccination programs. Several studies have been conducted in Jordan to examine vaccine acceptability. This study aims at calculating the pooled acceptance rate for the COVID-19 vaccine in Jordan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline was adopted to conduct the present meta-analysis. The RevMan software was utilized to estimate the poled acceptance rate and to construct the study Figures. RESULTS: Data from 22 studies that fit the study inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. The total number of participants was 38,600. The pooled COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate was estimated to be 39.89% [95%-CI: 33.52-46.27]. Subgroup analysis, according to the year of publication, showed a pooled COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate of 36.70% [95%-CI: 29.27-44.12, I2=100%, p<0.0001) for 2021, and 48.90% [95%-CI: 40.21-57.65, I2=91.0%, p<0.0001) for 2022. This indicates about a 33% increase in vaccine acceptance through 2022. CONCLUSIONS: The reported COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate in Jordan is below expectations. While the acceptance rate has increased in 2022 compared to 2021, there is still a need for more efforts and awareness interventions to reach a convincing level of vaccination against COVID-19 in Jordan.