Risk Perception of Covid-19 and Willingness to Vaccinate (WTV) among Informal Workers in Ado-Odo/Ota and Ifo LGA, Ogun State

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19bled to over 5 million deaths worldwide. Vaccination is one of the several ways for ending the pandemic. The  path from knowledge to preventive practices is mediated by certain factors such as risk perceptions. This study set out to determine the  risk perception and predictors of willingness to vaccinate (WTV) among informal workers in Ado-Odo/Ota and Ifo local government area  (LGA) in Ogun state. This descriptive cross-sectional survey collected information about the risk perception and WTV among 350 informal  workers selected by multistage sampling in Ado-Odo/Ota and Ifo local government areas, Ogun State. Knowledge of COVID-19,  preventive practices, perception of risk, exposure to infection, vaccine status and WTV were determined. Data analysis was done using  Epi-Info, results were presented as frequencies, and correlates done using Chi-square with significance level at p-value <0.05.  Respondents were aged 43.6 + 14.8 years, mostly female (60.9%), with secondary or higher education (72.6%), held manual/non-manual  occupations (48.5%), and reported average monthly incomes <N40,000 (72.3%). Knowledge of cause, transmission and symptoms of  COVID-19 was high, but reported prevention practices was poor. Overall, the COVID-19 risk perception was 'low' among 89.7% of respondents, and 32.8% were not willing to be vaccinated. Only 12.9% had both doses. Despite high knowledge levels, there are still low  rates of risk perception and WTV. This requires more targetted community engagement to increase public confidence in the safety and  efficacy of vaccines and reduce concerns about side effects to ensure successful vaccine rollout.