COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among refugees in Bidibidi refugee settlement, Northern Uganda

Background We investigated the factors associated with people’s acceptability to get the COVID-19 vaccine if made available among refugees in the Bidibidi refugee settlement. Methods Face-to-face interviews were used to collect data between 6 March and 9 April 2021. A binary logistic regression was fitted to examine the factors that determine acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine. Results Most respondents (78%) accepted to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Results from the binary logistic regression model show that respondents that were uncertain whether the COVID-19 vaccine would stop transmissions were less likely to get the vaccine (adjusted odds ratio, aOR = 0.70; 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.51–0.96) than respondents that were not uncertain. Respondents who did not want to go to health facilities (aOR = 0.61; 95% CI = 0.44–0.84) were less likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccine than their counterparts who want to go to health facilities. The odds of getting a COVID-19 vaccine among respondents who sometimes put on a face mask (aOR = 1.77; CI = 1.26–2.49) are more than respondents who always put on a face mask. Conclusions The results inform the planning and implementation of COVID-19 vaccine promotion campaigns in humanitarian settings, particularly in LMICs in Africa that embody similar characteristics, contexts, and health systems challenges, as in northern Uganda.