Awareness About Influenza and the Influenza Vaccine: A Doctor Survey to Assess Reasons for Influenza Vaccine Hesitancy in India

Abstract

Background: Influenza is a disease caused by four types of viruses and causes annual outbreaks. An outbreak of a new type of Influenza virus (A/H1N1) was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009. Recently, there has been a lot of focus on the development of the COVID-19 vaccine but the Influenza vaccine, which has been available for a long time and has proven efficacy, is not being optimally utilized in India. Objective: The study aimed at assessing the awareness and attitude about Influenza and its vaccine amongst Indian doctors so as to analyze reasons for Influenza vaccine hesitancy in India. Method: An online questionnaire-based survey was undertaken between September 2020 and December 2020. 1000 doctors with valid Indian medical graduation (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, MBBS) or above were invited to participate. Results: The survey revealed that most doctors believed in Influenza vaccination as the best strategy to prevent infection, but lacked adequate awareness about the common facts regarding the appropriate season, diseases covered and the requirement of the influenza vaccine during pregnancy. Doctors opined that lack of patient awareness, casual counseling, few prescriptions by physicians, misconceptions about safety, and high cost of Influenza vaccine were the key reasons for vaccine hesitancy in patients. Conclusion: There is incomplete awareness amongst doctors regarding Influenza vaccination which might be a roadblock in the widespread acceptance of Influenza vaccines in India. Moreover, there is a need for patient-to-patient education through social media and the deployment of digital tools to address vaccine hesitancy in the country.