Mpox post COVID-19 pandemic: worrying and vaccine acceptance among Meknes’s population - Morocco

Abstract

Background: In May 2022, the world is experiencing the reappearance of Mpox as another public health threat. Aims: The present study assessed the concerns of the population of the prefecture of the Meknes region about this disease and their acceptance of vaccines against Mpox.Methods: During the period between November and December 2022, we conducted an analytical and descriptive survey with 384 participants from the Meknes prefecture to ascertain the perception of Mpox risk in the population compared with COVID-19. A p-value of less than 0.05 indicated that the link was significant. Using SPSS software, the p-value and chi² (X²) were calculated.Results: 76% of the respondents perceived the COVID-19 pandemic as more worrying than Mpox and refused to vaccinate against it (69%).More than half of the respondents (60%) perceived Mpox as a dangerous and virulent disease, whereas the adherence of participants and their family members to Mpox precautions was rare (79%).Conclusion: These findings revealed that participants were less concerned about Mpox compared withCOVID-19 and the vaccination acceptance is still lower than expected. However, vaccination remains an important approach to prevent infectious diseases such as Mpox.