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Background: Covid-19 vaccine research and development is progressing and expected to be put into use in a predictable time, we aimed to learn the awareness and acceptance of the new vaccine by healthcare workers (HCWs) in Beijing, China. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate HCWs including doctors, nurses and technicians from sixty hospitals in Beijing to obtain the perception of COVID-19 epidemic and the attitudes towards vaccination before before the completion of vaccine phase III clinical trials. Multivariate analysis was applied to evaluate the associated factors with intention to get vaccination.Results: A total of 8040 HCWs was recruited. 67.1% reported they would get vaccination, others said unsure or would not. Half of the HCWs were unsure whether the outbreak in China would come back and the global epidemic would last for a long time. 67.6% agreed the epidemic can be prevented by vaccination. Positive associated factors with willingness to get vaccination were mainly included epidemic situation prognosis, perception of disease severity, self infection risk and disease can be prevented by vaccine, etc. Two positive factors of “wanted the vaccine free of charge” (OR:5.807, 95%CI:5.083-6.635, P<0.001) and “believed vaccine approved for license have been fully evaluated in clinical trials” (OR:4.485, 95%CI:3.849-5.227, P<0.001) were strongly associated with willingness to get vaccination, while two factors of “highest academic degree” (OR:0.840, 95%CI:0.772-0.914, P<0.001) and “professional ranks and titles” (OR:0.930, 95%CI:0.865-1.000, P=0.049) were negative associated .Conclusions: A little above moderate willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination was found among HCWs in Beijing before the vaccine being licensed. Free vaccination strategy should be considered to implement, effective measures should be taken to remove barriers and convey correct information through appropriate ways to enhance the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among HCWs in China.

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What is already known about this topic?The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development has been progressing, but acceptance of the new vaccines by healthcare workers (HCWs) was not well known prior to approval of COVID-19 vaccines in China. What is added by this report?This study found that before vaccine approval, Beijing HCWs expressed moderate willingness to get vaccinated. Factors positively influencing willingness included free vaccination and belief that the vaccine had been fully evaluated. A negatively influencing factor was presence of an underlying disease. Trust in vaccines, in general, was positively associated with willingness to get new vaccines. What are the implications for public health practice? COVID-19 vaccines should be provided at no cost to HCWs. Effective measures should be taken to enhance the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among HCWs in China.The coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines are expected to be widely used, but awareness and acceptance of the new COVID-19 vaccines by healthcare workers (HCWs) was not well known prior to approval by China's vaccine regulatory authority. The research conducted a cross-sectional survey in Beijing to assess HCWs' perceptions of the COVID-19 epidemic and attitudes towards vaccination before COVID-19 vaccines were approved. Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate factors associated with willingness to get vaccinated. A total of 8,040 HCWs were recruited; 67.1% reported they would get vaccinated, while the rest were unsure or indicated they would not get vaccinated. Factors associated with willingness to get vaccinated included the epidemic situation and its prognosis, perception of disease severity, and perceived risk of getting infected. Multivariate analyses found two factors strongly associated with willingness, "wanting the vaccine to be free of charge" (OR: 5.78, 95% CI: 5.05-6.60, P<0.001) and "belief that the vaccine was fully evaluated prior to licensure" (OR: 4.45, 95% CI: 3.81-5.20, P<0.001). One factor, "presence of an underlying disease" was found to be negatively associated with willingness (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.61-0.90, P<0.001). The results supported a free vaccination policy and use of effective measures to remove barriers and convey accurate information about COVID-19 vaccines to enhance acceptance of the vaccines among HCWs in China.The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the COVID-19 virus also known as SARS-CoV-2, has resulted in global public health and economic crises (1). The general consensus is that successful vaccines should be developed to reduce morbidity and mortality caused by the disease (2). Many countries have been promoting vaccine research and achieving landmark results over the past months (3). Several vaccines completed Phase III clinical trials and have been put into extensive use.Based on previous experience, it is highly likely that HCWs will be recommended as a priority population for vaccination. Experience has shown that even if vaccines are successfully developed, the acceptance may not be ideal (4)....