Assessment of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers in Los Angeles

Abstract

ImportanceHealthcare workers (HCW) are slated to be early recipients of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines due to increased risk of exposure to patients with COVID-19, and will be tasked with administering approved vaccines to the general population. As lynchpins of the vaccination effort, HCWs’ opinions of a vaccine’s safety and efficacy may affect both public perception and uptake of the vaccine. Therefore, it is crucial to understand and address potential hesitancy prior to vaccine administration.ObjectiveTo understand healthcare workers’ attitudes about vaccine safety, efficacy, and acceptability in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, including acceptance of a novel coronavirus vaccine.Design, Setting, ParticipantsA cross-sectional survey was distributed to participants enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study surveilling SARS-CoV-2 infection among 1,093 volunteer sampled University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Health System employees. Surveys were completed online between September 24 and October 16, 2020. In total, 609 participants completed this supplemental survey.ResultsWe averaged a 9-statement Likert scale matrix scored from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 5 (“strongly agree”) and found respondents overwhelmingly confident about vaccine safety (4.47); effectiveness (4.44); importance, self-protection, and community health (4.67). Notably, 47.3% of respondents reported unwillingness to participate in a coronavirus vaccine trial, and most (66.5%) intend to delay vaccination. The odds of reporting intent to delay coronavirus vaccine uptake were 4.15 times higher among nurses, 2.45 times higher among other personnel with patient contact roles, and 2.15 times higher among those without patient contact compared to doctors. Evolving SARS-CoV-2 science (76.0%), current political climate (57.6%), and fast-tracked vaccine development timeline (83.4%) were cited as primary variables impacting HCW decisions to undergo vaccination. Of note, these results were obtained prior to release of Phase III data from companies manufacturing vaccines in the U.S.Conclusions and RelevanceDespite overall confidence in vaccines, a majority of HCW expressed concerns over a novel coronavirus vaccine. A large proportion plan to delay vaccine uptake due to concerns about expedited development, emerging scientific discoveries, and the political climate. Forthcoming vaccination campaigns must address these unique points of coronavirus vaccine hesitancy in order to achieve adequate vaccine coverage.

Willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine among patients with rheumatic diseases, healthcare workers and general population in Turkey: a web-based survey

“…Hesitancy to get vaccinated was reported to be associated with younger age, female gender, lower income, lower level of education and black ethnicity [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 30 – 32 ]. In line with previous reports [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 30 – 34 ], we observed that working in a hospital especially being a physician, being male, being older than 40 years of age, not having contracted COVID-19 and having higher scores on CAS were found to be independently associated with vaccine acceptance. Females were more reluctant to get vaccinated as they tend to inquire more about health-related information (which can mean increased exposure also to misinformation) and they make the majority of health care decisions for their children and other family members [ 33 ].…”

“…These findings are consistent with previous studies done among the hospital workers [ 33 ]. In a recent study, nurses were found to be more likely to delay the vaccination compared to physicians [ 34 ]. In another, nearly half or more of nurses and various types of medical personnel were not sure whether the vaccine will work and protect them against COVID-19 [ 33 ].…”

Determinants of intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 among healthcare personnel in hospitals in Greece

“…As also shown in studies from France, Congo, and Israel [ 12 , 20 , 23 ], physicians were more likely to report intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to other professions. In particular in our survey 71.5% of physicians and 43% of nursing personnel favored COVID-19 vaccination, which is similar to the 40% acceptance rate reported among nurses in Hong-Kong and the significant intention rate to delay COVID-19 vaccination among nurses compared to physicians in a Los Angeles study [ 11 , 24 ]. As of March 17 2021, the nationwide COVID-19 vaccine uptake rates were 77% among physicians and 51% among nursing personnel, which are increased compared to the recorded rates of intention to get vaccinated in our survey.…”

Acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among health care workers in Ghana

“…Similarly, in the multi-country study of Verger et al [15], which also assessed health care vaccine among health care workers in this study was lower than that reported in Saudi Arabia [25], China [26,27], France [18], and the United States [13,20,28]. For instance, Shaw et al Research has shown that health care workers intending to be vaccinated plan to recommend the vaccine to family and friends [19].…”