Exploring healthcare professionals’ views and approaches regarding COVID-19 vaccines

Abstract

Aim: While going through tough times in the fight against the pandemic, the approach of healthcare professionals to vaccination can enlighten the way of society. In our study, we aimed to investigate healthcare professionals’ views and approaches regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: We carried out the study with a total of 500 voluntary healthcare professionals between January 2021 and April 2021. We administered a survey consisting of 15 multiple choice questions to the participants and put their responses into statistical analyses. Results: There were a total of 500 participants, among whom 168 were males (33.6%). The mean age of the participants was 39.68 (21-62). While the number of physicians was 48 (9.6%), there were 158 (31.6%) nurses and midwives and 294 (58.8%) other healthcare personnel. Most of the participants (84.4%) thought the COVID-19 was a fatal infection. Again, the majority of participants believed in the necessity of vaccines (87%) and, especially, the COVID-19 (73.2%). Besides, the rate of those who were vaccinated against COVID-19 was 82%. Interestingly, about half of the participants (54%) believed in the protective effect of the vaccine. The participants showed ineffectiveness (34%) and side effects (28%) as the frequent reasons for non-vaccination. Among those who were positive towards vaccination, 16.7% had not been vaccinated yet. A substantial rate of the participants (67.4%) recommended the COVID-19 vaccine to those around them, but 6.8% did not. Sixty-three per cent of the participants would trust the local vaccine more. Finally, 67% of the participants thought that the vaccine would play a significant role in ending the pandemic. Conclusion: In our study, we discovered that the vast majority of healthcare professionals were vaccinated and adopted a positive approach to vaccination. In addition, relevant training programs may help increase the number of individuals adopting entirely positive attitudes towards the vaccine.

Keywords

• COVID-19 vaccine
• healthcare professionals
• survey
• vaccine approach

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