Predictors of unwillingness or inaccessibility to receive the COVID-19 vaccination among persons with disabilities in Bangladesh

Introduction Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are among the most vulnerable communities to suffer the serious consequences of COVID-19, and accepting COVID-19 vaccination is one of the recommended health advisories for them. Unwillingness to receive vaccines is a concerning issue, especially in the countries of Southeast Asia. The study aims to find out the COVID-19 vaccination rate of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Bangladesh, the rate of unwillingness or inaccessibility of vaccination for PWDs, and predict the possible reasons for unwillingness. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey of PWDs aged 12 years or more was conducted in 12 rehabilitation centers in Bangladesh between February 2022 and May 2022. A self-developed structured questionnaire on socio-demographic, disability, and health indicators, acceptance and accessibility of COVID-19 vaccines, and knowledge and attitude towards vaccination was used for the survey. The study has been conducted according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines for a cross-sectional survey. Results With a 69% response rate, 241 PWDs participated in the study. PWDs with a spinal cord injury were the major respondents (62.7%). A total of 186 (77.2%) PWDs had taken one or more doses of COVID-19 vaccines of three doses supplied, and 55 (22.8%) were unwilling to have a vaccination. All vaccine recipients reported good accessibility to vaccination booths. The predictive factors of unwillingness were spinal cord injury type of disability (OR .36, P<.01), people coming to the rehabilitation center from rural areas (OR .44, P<.01), poor knowledge of COVID-19 vaccination (OR .78, P<.01), and dependency on mobility (OR.24, P<.001). Conclusion More than one-fifth of the persons with disabilities aged between 12 and 80 years were unwilling to receive the COVID-19 vaccination despite the accessibility of information and availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, mainly due to poor knowledge and mobility issues.