Abstract
COVID-19 vaccine has been an important measure to support sustainable control of the COVID-19 pandemic situation and has influenced policy decisions to relax other measures that hinder the development of the country socially and economically. Monitoring and evaluation framework for COVID-19 vaccination policy in Thailand is therefore an important tool for policy planning and mitigation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to understand the challenges in order to develop monitoring and evaluation framework for COVID-19 vaccination policy in Thailand. The main objective of this study was to develop an evaluative standard indicators which can be used to monitor and evaluate different aspects of the COVID-19 vaccine policy in Thailand. The specific objectives are: 1) to understand COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy situation among healthcare workers in Thailand; 2) to collect and collate any related indicators for the successful evaluation of the COVID-19 vaccination policy from the experience of ASEAN countries; 3) to estimate the budget required for the monitoring and evaluation of the real world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine; and 4) to develop monitoring and evaluation indicators for COVID-19 vaccination after their arrival in Thailand. Multiple research methodologies were employed to respond to the abovementioned objectives. Online survey was conducted to understand the issue of vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers, foreign migrant workers, and the general public population. Additional field work was carried out for foreign migrant workers about their views on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Multivariable regression analyses were executed to analyze the survey data. In addition, a scoping review on the monitoring and evaluation framework of other existing vaccines was conducted to understand the landscape of monitoring and evaluation frameworks used in other countries and settings. Moreover, the stakeholder consultations in Thailand and ASEAN countries were organized to obtain lessons learned and to disseminate the findings on resources needed in preparation for vaccine’s monitoring and evaluation program. The results showed that all study populations had some degree of vaccine hesitancy, particularly among healthcare workers. However, the study discovered that the level of hesitation subsided when the COVID-19 vaccines finally arrived in Thailand. Furthermore, foreign migrant workers were the least reluctant group compared to the healthcare workers and the general public. Significantly, the roundtable meetings among representatives of ASEAN countries emphasized the lessons learned on COVID-19 vaccination administration guidelines of each country including COVID-19 vaccine management guideline and vaccination assessment. In addition, the results of scoping review and stakeholder consultations suggested that the indicators for monitoring and evaluation framework can be summarized into three pillars: 1) vaccine coverage indicators; 2) clinical and operational indicators; and 3) operational indicators and others. Overall, the aim of this research was to provide evidence to support policy makers in planning for the post-vaccination period on vaccine hesitancy and indicators to support the monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine. This research project uses COVID-19 vaccine as an example with hope that the findings may support future work for other diseases and in similar settings.
