A Narrative Review of Vaccine Hesitancy in Childhood Immunisation in Malaysia

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.