Awareness, Attitude, and Acceptability of Healthcare Workers About COVID-19 Vaccination in Western India

Abstract

In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the frontline around the world and categorized as a priority group for COVID-19 vaccines. Our study aimed to find out the COVID-19 vaccine awareness, attitude, and acceptance in HCWs in western India. MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out between January 14 and January 28, 2021, at a tertiary care hospital located in western India. Data were collected anonymously using Google Forms. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the sociodemographic variables. The knowledge and attitude of HCWs were analyzed using mean and SD. Multivariate analysis was done to find out the association between participants' attitudes with demographic characteristics. ResultsOf the total health care workers, 498 answered the survey. The mean age of participants was 29.8 years (SD 6.4), and 354 (71.1%) were male. Among the respondents, 445 (89.4%) would accept a COVID-19 vaccine when available. Four-hundred seventy-six (476) HCWs (95.6%) had excellent knowledge regarding COVID-19 and COVID-19-appropriate behavior. The majority of the subjects (399) had a neutral attitude toward COVID-19 vaccination. Health care professionals (doctors and nurses) had higher acceptance for vaccination against COVID-19 than non-professionals. ConclusionsThe higher rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and the excellent knowledge among HCWs will directly enhance the level and acceptability of vaccine among the general population and will definitely help in reducing the mortality and morbidity related to COVID-19.

Willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors among adult chronic patients. A cross-sectional study in Northwest Ethiopia

“…The possible explanation for this discrepancy might be that chronic patients have a higher perceived vulnerability for the COVID-19 infection than the general population [ 40 ]. In contrast, the findings of this study are lower than a study conducted in Ethiopia (61%) [ 41 ] and (72.2%) [ 42 ], India (89.4%) [ 43 ], Bangladesh (74.5%) [ 44 ]. The disparity could be explained by differences in access to health care services, understanding of the severity of COVID-19, and the difference in the study population.…”

COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy among Healthcare Workers—A Review

“…In biomedical and clinical sciences, these include unethical research, such as the highly unethical Tuskegee syphilis study [197]. There is also suspicion that when financial gains are involved, it is a reason for suspecting dishonesty from those producing, distributing, or promoting the vaccine [198][199][200]. This belief may be influenced by the profits from COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer reported USD 36.7 billion in COVID-19 vaccine sales in 2021 [201]); recommendations for additional booster shots may have only exacerbated this sentiment among some individuals.…”

“…Some healthcare workers have expressed the idea that vaccination is not necessary [226]. Some contend that natural immunity is preferable to immunization [82,198]. Others contend that vaccination should not be required or is not necessary for those who have already contracted COVID-19 [110,142].…”

COVID-19 vaccine knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and uptake among healthcare workers of Pune district, Maharashtra

“…Most of the studies to date focused on health workers from hospital settings or vaccine hesitancy. 25,26 We engage with HCWs due to their vital role in introducing the vaccine in the community and their association with community members. Research evidence shows that community health workers play a significant role in vaccine promotion and acceptance through community dialogue and engagement, education, trust-building, mythbusting, or community entry.…”