Correlates and Narratives of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Ghana: A case study

Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted public health and disrupted socioeconomic activities globally. Although vaccination efforts have intensified, overall community uptake of COVID-19 vaccines remain suboptimal. This study explored the facilitators and barriers of vaccine uptake in the New Juaben South Municipality (NJSM) in Ghana. Study design The Exploratory Case Study Design was employed for the research. Methods Using concurrent mixed-method approach, quantitative data were collected from 418 randomly selected respondents from eight communities. The qualitative data consisted of responses from 23 participants. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS version 28, descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and p-values were used to interpret the findings, whilst participant interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. Results The level of COVID-19 vaccine uptake was 53.1 %. Various factors significantly influenced uptake, including age (p = 0.053), occupational category (p = 0.001), education (p = 0.003), income (p = 0.001), awareness of effectiveness of vaccines (p = 0.002), awareness of ongoing vaccination (p = 0.011), infection with coronavirus (p = 0.005), close family member infected with coronavirus (p = 0.039), death of someone due to COVID-19 (p = 0.022) and overall perception towards COVID-19 disease and vaccine (p = 0.001). Additionally, respondents above 47 years of age [AOR = 4.99, CI= (1.32–18.91), p = 0.018)], health workers [AOR = 2.65, CI = (1.03–6.18), p = 0.043)], those with basic education [AOR = 0.50, CI = (0.27–0.92), p = 0.025)], and good perception towards COVID-19 disease and vaccination [AOR = 2.30, CI = (1.37–3.85), p = 0.002)], all had higher odds of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. However, deeply rooted religious and cultural beliefs were major barriers to vaccination uptake. Conclusion Community-based health communication strategies are essential to counter vaccine misconceptions during pandemics and foster enduring behavioural change.