REFLECTIONS OF HEALTH INEQUALITIES ON THE COVID-19 VACCINATION PROCESS AND THE VIEWS OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

Aim: Social and economic conditions are the main reasons for the emergence of inequalities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, inequalities were seen to increase further. This study was conducted to evaluate the reflections of health inequalities on the COVID-19 vaccination process and the views and recommendations of health care professionals in this regard. Methods: This descriptive research was conducted in eastern Turkey with 344 health care professionals. The research data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed by using numbers, mean and percentages. Results: Of the health care professionals, 95.9% reported inequality between countries during the COVID19 vaccination process, 97.1% reported that access to vaccines was a human right, and 96.1% reported that everyone should have access to vaccines without discrimination. According to health care professionals, not releasing the vaccines into the public domain (86.3%), the income of countries (84.3%), and failure to determine vaccination priorities according to public health rules (77.9%) were among the reasons for inequality between countries in COVID-19 vaccination. Conclusion: Health care professionals reported that there were inequalities between countries in the COVID-19 vaccination process. Almost all of them are of the opinion that access to vaccines is a human right and that everyone should have access to vaccines without discrimination.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• COVID-19 vaccination
• inequality in health

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