TO THE EDITOR:
 
We received the correspondence regarding our recently published article and we thank you. We read this well-written correspondence carefully and are glad that the authors are in agreement with our findings and conclusions.
 
As is widely acknowledged in the literature, there is not only one reason for disbelief or hesitancy toward COVID-19 or toward the available vaccines developed to protect humanity from this disease. Nevertheless, disbelief and hesitancy have been documented as a worldwide phenomenon affecting all countries.
 
Fortunately, according to Lazarus et al.,(1) COVID-19 vaccine acceptance increased over the last year in most of the 19 countries studied in 2020 and 2021. However, even though the reported level of acceptance rose to 75.2% in the 23 countries studied in 2021, it remains below the level required to tackle the pandemic successfully.(1)
 
Consequently, each country needs to investigate the reasons behind the disbelief in COVID-19 and the vaccine hesitancy and act accordingly, because the factors associated with this phenomenon vary considerably from country to country. Some of these factors include gender, age, income, health condition, and place of residence.(2)
 
Also, circulating misinformation had a negative impact on each national health care system’s attempt to implement scientifically sound strategies to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of misinformation, people may become confused and hesitant, suspect vaccine efficacy, and, consequently, avoid vaccination. As has been suggested elsewhere,(3) we strongly believe that primary care needs to be supported and used as a pillar to inform people about and restore their trust in the health care systems and scientific achievements altogether.
 
Finally, we advocate that cooperation among nations and exchange of information, research findings, and good practices are essential to effectively control this pandemic.
 
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
 
None declared.
 
REFERENCES
 
1.            Lazarus JV, Wyka K, White TM, Picchio CA, Rabin K, Ratzan SC, et al. Revisiting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy around the world using data from 23 countries in 2021. Nat Commun. 2022;13(1):3801. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31441-x
2.            Stojanovic J, Boucher VG, Gagne M, Gupta S, Joyal-Desmarais K, Paduano S, et al. Global Trends and Correlates of COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy: Findings from the iCARE Study. Vaccines (Basel). 2021;9(6):661. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9060661
3.            Tharmaratnam T, D’Urzo A, Cazzola M. Medical knowledge about COVID-19 is travelling at the speed of mistrust: why this is relevant to primary care. Fam Pract. 2022;39(5):988-991. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmac001