Acceptance towards Monkeypox Vaccination: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Vaccination is crucial for mitigating monkeypox (mpox) severity and reducing hospitalizations.
• Understanding global vaccination acceptance is key to effective public health interventions.
• Previous estimates of monkeypox vaccine acceptance varied significantly.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the global prevalence of vaccination acceptance against monkeypox.
• To identify variations in acceptance across different continents and populations.
• To inform targeted vaccination strategies and public health policies.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
• Comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases.
• Inclusion of 11 cross-sectional studies with 8045 participants; quality assessed using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

Main Results:

• The pooled prevalence of monkeypox vaccination acceptance was 56.0% (95% CI: 42.0-70.0%).
• Vaccine acceptance was higher in European countries (70.0%) than in Asian countries (50.0%).
• Acceptance varied by population: LGBTI community (84.0%), healthcare workers (63.0%), and general population (43.0%).

Conclusions:

• Global monkeypox vaccination acceptance is moderate, with significant disparities across regions and demographic groups.
• Lower acceptance in the general population and among healthcare workers necessitates targeted public health campaigns.
• Findings support the development of tailored vaccination strategies to improve mpox prevention efforts.