Background: Following the emergency approval of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, research into its vaccination hesitancy saw a substantial increase. However, the psychological behaviors associated with this hesitancy are still not completely understood. This study assessed the psychological antecedents associated with COVID-19 vaccination in the Arab population. Methodology: The validated Arabic version of the 5C questionnaire was distributed online across various social media platforms in Arabic-speaking countries. The questionnaire had three sections, namely, socio-demographics, COVID-19 related infection and vaccination, and the 5C scale of vaccine psychological antecedents of confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility. Results: In total, 4,474 participants with a mean age of 32.48 ± 10.76 from 13 Arab countries made up the final sample, 40.8% of whom were male. Around 26.7% of the participants were found to be confident about the COVID-19 vaccination, 10.7% indicated complacency, 96.5% indicated they had no constraints, 48.8% had a preference for calculation and 40.4% indicated they had collective responsibility. The 5C antecedents varied across the studied countries with the confidence and collective responsibility being the highest in the United Arab Emirates (59.0% and 58.0%, respectively), complacency and constraints in Morocco (21.0% and 7.0%, respectively) and calculation in Sudan (60.0%). The regression analyses revealed that sex, age, educational degrees, being a health care professional, history of COVID-19 infection and having a relative infected or died from COVID-19 significantly predicted the 5C psychological antecedents by different degrees. Conclusion: There are wide psychological antecedent variations between Arab countries, and different determinants can have a profound effect on the COVID-19 vaccine’s psychological antecedents.

Background: The presented meta-analysis was developed in response to the publication of several studies addressing COVID-19 vaccines hesitancy. We aimed to identify the proportion of vaccine acceptance and rejection, and factors affecting vaccine hesitancy worldwide especially with the fast emergency approval of vaccines. Methods: Online database search was performed, and relevant studies were included with no language restriction. A meta-analysis was conducted using R software to obtain the random effect model of the pooled prevalence of vaccine acceptance and rejection. Egger’s regression test was performed to assess publication bias. Quality assessment was assessed using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale quality assessment tool. Results: Thirty-nine out of 12246 articles met the predefined inclusion criteria. All studies were cross-sectional designs. The pooled proportion of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was 17% (95% CI: 14-20) while the pooled proportion of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was 75% (95% CI: 71-79). The vaccine hesitancy and the vaccine acceptance showed high heterogeneity (I ² =100%). Case fatality ratio and the number of reported cases had significant effect on the vaccine acceptance as the pooled proportion of vaccine acceptance increased by 39.95% (95% CI: 20.1-59.8) for each 1% increase in case fatality (P<0.0001) and decreased by 0.1% (95% CI: -0.2-0.01) for each 1000 reported case of COVID-19, P= 0.0183). Conclusion: Transparency in reporting the number of newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases and deaths is mandatory as these factors are the main determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Background and aim Following emergency approval of vaccines, the amount of scientific literature investigating population hesitancy towards vaccination against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased exponentially. Nevertheless, the associated psychological behaviors with this phenomenon are still not clearly understood. This study aims to assess the psychological antecedents of the Arab population toward COVID-19 vaccines. Methods A cross-sectional, online study using a validated Arabic version of the 5C questionnaire was conducted through different media platforms in different Arabic-speaking countries. The questionnaire included three sections: socio-demographics, COVID-19 related questions, and the 5C scale of vaccine psychological antecedents, namely confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility. Results A total of 4,474 participants, 40.8% males from 13 Arab countries were included in the study. About 26.7% of participants had confidence in COVID-19 vaccination, 10.7% had complacency, 96.5% had no constraints, 48.8% had calculation and 40.4% had collective responsibility. The 5C antecedents showed variation among countries with confidence and collective responsibility being higher in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (59% and 58%, respectively), complacency and constraints were higher in Morocco (21% and 7%, respectively) and calculation was higher in Sudan (60%). Regression analysis revealed that sex, age, educational degrees, being a health care professional, getting a COVID-19 infection, having a relative infected or died from COVID-19 can affect the 5C psychological antecedents by different degrees. Conclusion and recommendations Wide variations of psychological antecedents between Arab countries exist. Different determinants can affect vaccine psychological antecedents.

(1) Background: Vaccination may be a key intervention to prevent infection in chronic hemodialysis (CHD) patients. This study aimed to determine the COVID-19 vaccination status in Egyptian CHD patients and to analyze the safety and detailed side effect profile of the COVID-19 vaccine among these patients. (2) Methods: This survey-based study was conducted on 670 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on CHD from 3 December 2021 to 5 February 2022. Subjects were asked about sociodemographic characteristics, clinical and therapeutic data, in addition to their COVID-19 vaccination status. If the subject had been vaccinated, we inquired about the type of vaccine and the side effects that occurred within a few days after administration of the first and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Additionally, subjects were asked about the onset of side effects (days from vaccination), timing of maximum symptoms, intensity of symptoms and their effect on activity and need for medical attention. (3) Results: The study included 670 CHD patients with a mean age of 50.79 years; 58.1% were females. The vast majority (614; 91.6%) of the studied patients received two doses of the vaccine. Side effects were more commonly reported after the first dose than the second dose. The main side effects reported were generalized weakness/fatigue (56%), headache (43.8%) and fever (40.4%), and sore arm/pain was also reported (29.3%). Adverse events mostly occurred within one day after vaccination and the maximum symptoms usually happened on the second day. The median duration of symptoms was 3 days with a maximum duration up to 5 days. The univariate logistic regression analysis showed that male gender (OR 1.848; (95% CI, 1.242–2.749), p = 0.002), age (OR 0.981; (95% CI, 0.969–0.993), p = 0.003), smoking (OR 6.067; (95% CI, 3.514–10.475), p < 0.001), duration since starting HD (OR 0.998; (95% CI, 0.998–0.999), p < 0.001), associated comorbidities (OR 2.202; (95% CI, 1.478–3.281), p < 0.001) and prior COVID-19 infection (OR 3.318; (95% CI, 1.952–5.642), p < 0.001) were the main determinants of adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccination. (4) Conclusions: our preliminary findings support the favorable short-term safety profile of the COVID-19 vaccine among CHD patients, and hence can reassure both clinicians and patients, as well as further promote COVID-19 vaccine administration among these patients.

Background/Objectives: Knee pain in hemodialysis (HD) patients might affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and may be related to anxiety and depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of knee pain in chronic HD patients and to determine its relationship with anxiety, depression, and HRQoL, Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out on chronic HD patients. Sociodemographic, clinical, and therapeutic data were collected. The Knee Pain Screening Tool (KNEST) was used to screen for knee pain. Patients with knee pain were instructed to complete the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). The patients also completed an Arabic-language version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36™) questionnaire. Results: This study included 271 chronic HD patients; the median age was 51 (IQR 21) years, and most of them were males (59%). Of them, 158 had knee pain. Those with knee pain were more likely to have anxiety compared to those without (p = 0.002) and significantly lower scores on the symptom/problem (p = 0.03) and burden of kidney disease domains (p = 0.047) and the physical health (p < 0.001) and mental health components (p = 0.001). Furthermore, those with moderate to severe knee pain were more likely to experience anxiety (p = 0.001) and depression (p = 0.005) and have a lower physical health composite (PHC) than those with mild knee pain (p = 0.046). Conclusions: HD patients have a significant prevalence of knee pain that is usually associated with anxiety and leads to worse HRQoL than those without knee pain.