Browsing by Author "Fehmi, Ziad"

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    COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Arab Americans
    (Springer Nature, 2022-04-14) Kheil, Mira H.; Jain, Deepti; Jomaa, Jamil; Askar, Brandon; Alcodray, Yasmeen; Wahbi, Shatha; Brikho, Salar; Kadouh, Ali; Harajli, Deanna; Jawad, Zain N.; Fehmi, Ziad; Elhage, Malaak; Tawil, Tala; Fehmi, Omar; Alzouhayli, Suma J.; Ujayli, Deema; Suleiman, Noor; Kazziha, Omar; Saleh, Rawan; Abada, Evi; Shallal, Anita; Kim, Seongho; Kumar, Vijaya Arun; Zervos, Marcus; Cote, Michele L.; Ali-Fehmi, Rouba; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    (1) Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines have a significant impact on reducing morbidity and mortality from infection. However, vaccine hesitancy remains an obstacle in combating the pandemic. The Arab American (AA) population is understudied; thus, we aimed to explore COVID-19 attitudes within this community. (2) Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. An anonymous online survey was distributed to members of different AA associations and to the community through the snowball method. (3) Results: A total of 1746 participants completed the survey. A total of 92% of respondents reported having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 73% reported willingness to receive a booster, and 72% plan to give their children the vaccine. On multivariate analysis, respondents were more likely to be vaccine-hesitant if they were hesitant about receiving any vaccine in general. They were less likely to be vaccine-hesitant if they were immigrants, over the age of 40, up to date on their general vaccination and if they believed that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in preventing an infection. The belief that all vaccines are effective at preventing diseases was also associated with lower hesitancy. (4) Conclusions: This sample of AAs have higher vaccination rates and are more willing to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 when compared to the rest of the population. However, a reemergence of hesitancy might be arising towards the boosters.
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    Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccine Attitudes among Arab American Healthcare Professionals Living in the United States
    (MDPI, 2021-08-24) Shallal, Anita; Abada, Evi; Musallam, Rami; Fehmi, Omar; Kaljee, Linda; Fehmi, Ziad; Alzouhayli, Suma; Ujayli, Deema; Dankerlui, Doreen; Kim, Seongho; Cote, Michele L.; Kumar, Vijaya Arun; Zervos, Marcus; Ali-Fehmi, Rouba; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Background: Vaccine hesitancy is the next great barrier for public health. Arab Americans are a rapidly growing demographic in the United States with limited information on the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy. We therefore sought to study the attitudes towards the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine amongst Arab American health professionals living in the United States. Methods: This was a cross sectional study utilizing an anonymous online survey. The survey was distributed via e-mail to National Arab American Medical Association members and Arab-American Center for Economic and Social Services healthcare employees. Respondents were considered vaccine hesitant if they selected responses other than a willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Results: A total of 4000 surveys were sent via e-mail from 28 December 2020 to 31 January 2021, and 513 responses were received. The highest group of respondents were between the ages of 18-29 years and physicians constituted 48% of the respondents. On multivariable analysis, we found that respondents who had declined an influenza vaccine in the preceding 5 years (p < 0.001) and allied health professionals (medical assistants, hospital administrators, case managers, researchers, scribes, pharmacists, dieticians and social workers) were more likely to be vaccine hesitant (p = 0.025). In addition, respondents earning over $150,000 US dollars annually were less likely to be vaccine hesitant and this finding was significant on multivariable analysis (p = 0.011). Conclusions: Vaccine hesitancy among health care providers could have substantial impact on vaccine attitudes of the general population, and such data may help inform vaccine advocacy efforts.