COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance, Barriers and Facilitators among Healthcare Workers in Pakistan
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Copyright: © 2021 . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background: Vaccines are one of the main cornerstones in the global initiatives to control the COVID-19 pandemic. National vaccination programs largely depend on vaccine availability and acceptance by a large proportion of the population to confer a measurable impact on SARS-CoV-2 transmission. In this study we determine the acceptance, barriers and facilitators of COVID-19 vaccination amongst healthcare workers (HCWs) in Pakistan. Methods: A structured and validated questionnaire was used in an online cross-sectional study. Health care workers residing in Pakistan were invited between 31st January to 9th February to participate in this survey. Results: A total of 436 health-care workers took part in this survey and among those 327 (75%) were doctors. 260 (60%) healthcare workers indicated that they would accept vaccination against COVID-19. 308 (71%) were completely confident or confident in using USA, UK manufactured COVID-19 vaccine. The acceptance concerning a potential Chinese vaccine was 267 (61%). 292 (67%) strongly agreed or agreed that they are concerned about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination while the concerns for safety were 293 (67%). Conclusions: About a third of HCWs, a group generally biased towards early acceptance of health interventions – expressed concerns or refusal of vaccination against COVID-19 in this survey. A dedicated communication plan and information campaign addressing the issues of efficacy, quality, logistics and religious concerns is needed to address these hurdles to allow for a successful national vaccination campaign.
