COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitude toward Booster Doses among US Healthcare Workers
Vaccine reluctance among healthcare workers (HCW) can have widespread negative ramifications, including modeling behavior for the general population and challenges with maintaining a healthy workforce so we can respond to a resurgence of the pandemic. We previously reported that only one-third of HC...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/11/1358 |
| _version_ | 1797508265736667136 |
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| author | Suman Pal Rahul Shekhar Saket Kottewar Shubhra Upadhyay Mriganka Singh Dola Pathak Devika Kapuria Eileen Barrett Abu Baker Sheikh |
| author_facet | Suman Pal Rahul Shekhar Saket Kottewar Shubhra Upadhyay Mriganka Singh Dola Pathak Devika Kapuria Eileen Barrett Abu Baker Sheikh |
| author_sort | Suman Pal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vaccine reluctance among healthcare workers (HCW) can have widespread negative ramifications, including modeling behavior for the general population and challenges with maintaining a healthy workforce so we can respond to a resurgence of the pandemic. We previously reported that only one-third of HCW were willing to take the vaccine as soon as it became available prior to its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Here, we re-examine the attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines among HCW several months after the vaccines have been made widely available. In this study, only 7.9% (n = 107) of respondents were hesitant to take the first or second dose of the vaccine. Younger age (18–40 years) and lower level of education attainment (GED or less) were associated with higher vaccine hesitancy, whereas self-identified Asian racial identity was associated with greater acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. Among the vaccine-hesitant group, more respondents noted mistrust of regulatory authorities (45.3%), government (48.6%), and pharmaceutical companies (50%) than mistrust of doctors (25.4%). Nearly two-thirds of respondents were concerned that vaccination may be ineffective against new strains and booster doses may be required; however, vaccine-hesitant respondents’ acceptance of a hypothetical booster dose was only 14.3%. Overall, vaccine hesitancy was observed to have demographic predictors similar to those previously reported; the hesitancy of some US HCW to receive booster doses may reflect a general hesitancy to receive other forms of vaccination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:00:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8566538d75d843c1855620f99e665af4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:00:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj.art-8566538d75d843c1855620f99e665af42023-11-23T01:53:43ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2021-11-01911135810.3390/vaccines9111358COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitude toward Booster Doses among US Healthcare WorkersSuman Pal0Rahul Shekhar1Saket Kottewar2Shubhra Upadhyay3Mriganka Singh4Dola Pathak5Devika Kapuria6Eileen Barrett7Abu Baker Sheikh8Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USADepartment of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USADepartment of Statistics and Probability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADivision of Gastroenterology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USAVaccine reluctance among healthcare workers (HCW) can have widespread negative ramifications, including modeling behavior for the general population and challenges with maintaining a healthy workforce so we can respond to a resurgence of the pandemic. We previously reported that only one-third of HCW were willing to take the vaccine as soon as it became available prior to its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Here, we re-examine the attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines among HCW several months after the vaccines have been made widely available. In this study, only 7.9% (n = 107) of respondents were hesitant to take the first or second dose of the vaccine. Younger age (18–40 years) and lower level of education attainment (GED or less) were associated with higher vaccine hesitancy, whereas self-identified Asian racial identity was associated with greater acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. Among the vaccine-hesitant group, more respondents noted mistrust of regulatory authorities (45.3%), government (48.6%), and pharmaceutical companies (50%) than mistrust of doctors (25.4%). Nearly two-thirds of respondents were concerned that vaccination may be ineffective against new strains and booster doses may be required; however, vaccine-hesitant respondents’ acceptance of a hypothetical booster dose was only 14.3%. Overall, vaccine hesitancy was observed to have demographic predictors similar to those previously reported; the hesitancy of some US HCW to receive booster doses may reflect a general hesitancy to receive other forms of vaccination.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/11/1358COVID-19vaccineboosterhealthcare workersUnited States |
| spellingShingle | Suman Pal Rahul Shekhar Saket Kottewar Shubhra Upadhyay Mriganka Singh Dola Pathak Devika Kapuria Eileen Barrett Abu Baker Sheikh COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitude toward Booster Doses among US Healthcare Workers Vaccines COVID-19 vaccine booster healthcare workers United States |
| title | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitude toward Booster Doses among US Healthcare Workers |
| title_full | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitude toward Booster Doses among US Healthcare Workers |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitude toward Booster Doses among US Healthcare Workers |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitude toward Booster Doses among US Healthcare Workers |
| title_short | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitude toward Booster Doses among US Healthcare Workers |
| title_sort | covid 19 vaccine hesitancy and attitude toward booster doses among us healthcare workers |
| topic | COVID-19 vaccine booster healthcare workers United States |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/11/1358 |
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