Factors Associated with Intention to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Among HIV Positive Patients Attending ART Clinic in Southwest Ethiopia

Introduction: By the end of 2021, Ethiopia plans to vaccinate 20% of the population. The prioritized group includes people older than 65 years, health care workers, teachers, soldiers, and people living with comorbid diseases, including HIV/AIDS. However, due to a lack of intention and other reasons, only less than one percent of the population has taken COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the determinant factors of intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among HIV-positive patients attending ART clinics in southern Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 398 HIV-positive patients from March 1 to April 28, 2021. Data were collected using a structured question-naire by three midwives. We entered the data into Epi InfoTM 3.5.1. Binary logistic regression was used to identify independently associated variables in bivariate and multi-variate analyses using SPSS version 20. Results: Currently, the intention to take COVID-19 vaccine among HIV-positive patients was 33.7%. The probability of PLWHA to take COVID-19 vaccine was two (AOR = 2 (1.08–3.44)) times higher among those who have been diagnosed with chronic diseases (exclude HIV) with those with not been diagnosed. PLWHA who were male in sex were five (AOR = 5 (2.96–8.68)) times more likely to take COVID-19 vaccine than female. The study also indicated that the odds of intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine were 4.1 times (AOR = 4.1 (2.33–7.31)) times higher among those participants who had good knowledge of COVID-19 practice compared with those who had poor knowledge. Conclusion: The overall intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among PLWHA is low. Therefore, there is a need to improve the intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among HIV-positive patients to achieve the 2021 goal of Ethiopia for 20% of the population vaccination. Patients with chronic illness, knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine, and sex were factors associated with the intention to receive COVID-19 vaccine.