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

Highlights

• 51.1% of 1571 HCP stated their intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
• The main reason for accepting COVID-19 vaccination was to control the pandemic.
• Men, physicians, and hepatitis B vaccinated were more likely to get vaccinated.
• Main reasons for declining vaccination were inadequate information and safety concerns.
• Safety perception about COVID-19 vaccine should be built to raise vaccine uptake.

Abstract

Background

To investigate intention rates to get vaccinated against COVID-19 among healthcare personnel (HCP) in Greece.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey.

Results

The response rate was 14.5%. Of 1521 HCP with a known profession, 607 (39.9%) were nursing personnel, 480 (31.6%) physicians, 171 (11.2%) paramedical personnel, 72 (4.7%) supportive personnel, and 191 (12.6%) administrative personnel. Overall, 803 of 1571 HCP (51.1%) stated their intention to get vaccinated while 768 (48.9%) stated their intention to decline vaccination. Most HCP (71.3%) who reported intent to get vaccinated noted contributing to the control of the pandemic and protecting their families and themselves as their reasons, while the most common reason for reporting intent to decline vaccination was inadequate information about the vaccines (74.9%), followed by concerns about vaccine safety (36.2%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the probability of intending to get vaccinated increased with male gender, being a physician, history of complete vaccination against hepatitis B, history of vaccination against pandemic A (H1N1) in 2009–2010, belief that COVID-19 vaccination should be mandatory for HCP, and increased confidence in vaccines in general during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following factors were associated with a lower intention to get vaccinated: no vaccination against influenza the past season, no intention to get vaccinated against influenza in 2020–2021, and no intention to recommend COVID-19 vaccination to high-risk patients.

Conclusion

There is an urgent need to built safety perception towards COVID-19 vaccines and raise vaccine uptake rates by HCP, and thus to protect the healthcare workforce and the healthcare services.

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Πηγή: www.idhjournal.com.au