The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the worst public health catastrophe in recent history, impacting people's mental health and increasing concern over vaccinations. Between early May and late June 2021, a web-based survey that included higher education institutions from three countries (Albania, Belgium, and Cyprus) was conducted. The purpose was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of academic staff, what affects their readiness to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and whether there is a link between the country of residence and readiness to be vaccinated. The short version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Score (DASS) questionnaire and a section of questions on vaccination readiness supported by the Health Belief Model were used for data collection. The final study sample was composed of 87 academics, both in Albania (n = 57) and in European Union (EU) countries (n = 30). Females comprised 91.2% of the Albanian participants and 63.3% of the EU countries participants. 89.7% of Albanian participants reported significantly higher proportions of prior COVID-19 (p = 0.001), compared to only 10.3% of EU country participants. Participants from Albania were less likely to vaccinate family members against COVID-19, and there was a significant association between this finding and whether an institution was affiliated with the EU (p = 0.007). In the two study groups, the DASS indicators showed a significant association between stress (p = 0.012) and depression (p = 0.011). The findings indicated that the pandemic affected the academic staff's mental health. When compared to academic staff members working in the EU, Albanian participants exhibited a larger prevalence of moderate-to-extremely severe depression and stress, which had an impact on their intentions to vaccinate against COVID-19. The results are essential to developing mental health coping strategies and approaches for increasing vaccination uptake, especially in developing countries.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11th, 2020. The pandemic had significantly affected public health, and the mental health of people was compromised regardless of age or socioeconomic status. In this study, we measured the psychological distress caused by the pandemic and determined the associated factors. An online survey was conducted from November 16th (2020) to January 31st (2021). The participants were Albanian adults (≥18 years old). The call to participate was posted on social networks. A questionnaire based on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was distributed to the participants via Google Forms. The internal consistency of the scales was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. The total number of participants was 488, and 87.3% were females. The mean age was 21.17 years. Full-time students and health care workers comprised 58% and 12.9% of the participants, respectively. The participants were asked 24 questions, and five factors explained 54.14% of the variance. The factors included mental fatigue, psychological consequences in metabolism, obsession with protective measures, negative perception of the situation, and empathy for patients with COVID-19. Effective and relevant mental health interventions and policies to help cope with psychological distress specifically related to COVID-19 should be designed and implemented.