Abstract:
Background and Objectives: Vaccination has been known
to be the most effective strategy in the prevention of many
communicable diseases. In Malaysia, since 2013 there has
been a resurgence in vaccine preventable diseases in children.
The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of
vaccine hesitancy (VH) in Malaysia and the factors that
contribute towards vaccine hesitancy. Methods: Relevant
articles on vaccine hesitancy in childhood immunisation in
Malaysia were searched using Google Scholar, PubMed and
Mendeley databases. The search was restricted for articles
published in the English language from 2015 – 2022. Studies
giving insight into vaccine hesitancy, refusal, defaulters, and
highlighted factors contributing to these parameters were
included. Results and Discussion: VH includes those who
refuse or delayed getting their child immunised. A total of 10
papers were included in the review which varied in terms of
methodology, vaccine hesitancy measurement methods,
settings and participants. The prevalence of vaccine
hesitancy from 3 studies was in the range of 6.8% to 11.6%.
The range of defaulters is much wider whereby the
percentage of mothers or parents who defaulted is between
0.03% - 20.7%. Parents or mothers who refused childhood
vaccination accounted for a very small percentage (0.08% -
0.47%). Common reasons for VH are low education level,
doubts about vaccine content and religion. Interestingly, VH
is more common among non-Muslims in the urban areas, but
more Muslims mothers are vaccine-hesitant in rural states.
Conclusion: Vaccine hesitancy (VH) is complex and
depends on various settings that include time, place and
vaccines. Factors that are associated with VH are also wide
ranging.
