Did Italy Really Need Compulsory Vaccination against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers? Results of a Survey in a Centre for Maternal and Child Health
Since its early spread, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a health threat globally. Due to their crucial role in the pandemic, Italy declared compulsory vaccination for healthcare workers. Vaccine hesitancy was observed among the healthcare workers and an ethical debate arose about Italian legal stat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/8/1293 |
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| author | Michela Peruch Paola Toscani Nicoletta Grassi Giulia Zamagni Lorenzo Monasta Davide Radaelli Tommaso Livieri Alessandro Manfredi Stefano D’Errico |
| author_facet | Michela Peruch Paola Toscani Nicoletta Grassi Giulia Zamagni Lorenzo Monasta Davide Radaelli Tommaso Livieri Alessandro Manfredi Stefano D’Errico |
| author_sort | Michela Peruch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since its early spread, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a health threat globally. Due to their crucial role in the pandemic, Italy declared compulsory vaccination for healthcare workers. Vaccine hesitancy was observed among the healthcare workers and an ethical debate arose about Italian legal statement D.L. n. 44/2021. In this article, we present the results of a survey performed in an Italian center for maternal and infant care and assess the attitudes towards the COVID-19 pandemic and the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of healthcare workers. Since March 2022, 91.5% of healthcare workers have been vaccinated with an additional dose. Only 2.3% of the respondents refused to take vaccination: the reasons behind this refusal were distrust, doubts over safety, and lack of information. Despite the high rate of response to vaccination, 17.7% of HCWs did not agree with its mandatory nature. In addition, 5.4% stated that they agreed to be vaccinated exclusively because of the sanctions provided for by the legislation. In conclusion, adequate vaccination coverage has been achieved in the hospital under consideration. However, it is still very important to continue to persuade HCWs of vaccine efficacy and safety, considering their social role. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:43:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f27a02baa6684fa29461bf4f2edf5fbe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:43:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj.art-f27a02baa6684fa29461bf4f2edf5fbe2023-12-03T14:37:29ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2022-08-01108129310.3390/vaccines10081293Did Italy Really Need Compulsory Vaccination against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers? Results of a Survey in a Centre for Maternal and Child HealthMichela Peruch0Paola Toscani1Nicoletta Grassi2Giulia Zamagni3Lorenzo Monasta4Davide Radaelli5Tommaso Livieri6Alessandro Manfredi7Stefano D’Errico8Department of Medical Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, 34149 Trieste, ItalyInstitute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, ItalyInstitute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, ItalyInstitute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, ItalyInstitute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Medical Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, 34149 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Medical Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, 34149 Trieste, ItalyInstitute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Medical Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, 34149 Trieste, ItalySince its early spread, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a health threat globally. Due to their crucial role in the pandemic, Italy declared compulsory vaccination for healthcare workers. Vaccine hesitancy was observed among the healthcare workers and an ethical debate arose about Italian legal statement D.L. n. 44/2021. In this article, we present the results of a survey performed in an Italian center for maternal and infant care and assess the attitudes towards the COVID-19 pandemic and the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of healthcare workers. Since March 2022, 91.5% of healthcare workers have been vaccinated with an additional dose. Only 2.3% of the respondents refused to take vaccination: the reasons behind this refusal were distrust, doubts over safety, and lack of information. Despite the high rate of response to vaccination, 17.7% of HCWs did not agree with its mandatory nature. In addition, 5.4% stated that they agreed to be vaccinated exclusively because of the sanctions provided for by the legislation. In conclusion, adequate vaccination coverage has been achieved in the hospital under consideration. However, it is still very important to continue to persuade HCWs of vaccine efficacy and safety, considering their social role.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/8/1293compulsory COVID-19 vaccinationhealthcare workersvaccine attitudesvaccine hesitancyvaccine acceptanceItalian legislation |
| spellingShingle | Michela Peruch Paola Toscani Nicoletta Grassi Giulia Zamagni Lorenzo Monasta Davide Radaelli Tommaso Livieri Alessandro Manfredi Stefano D’Errico Did Italy Really Need Compulsory Vaccination against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers? Results of a Survey in a Centre for Maternal and Child Health Vaccines compulsory COVID-19 vaccination healthcare workers vaccine attitudes vaccine hesitancy vaccine acceptance Italian legislation |
| title | Did Italy Really Need Compulsory Vaccination against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers? Results of a Survey in a Centre for Maternal and Child Health |
| title_full | Did Italy Really Need Compulsory Vaccination against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers? Results of a Survey in a Centre for Maternal and Child Health |
| title_fullStr | Did Italy Really Need Compulsory Vaccination against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers? Results of a Survey in a Centre for Maternal and Child Health |
| title_full_unstemmed | Did Italy Really Need Compulsory Vaccination against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers? Results of a Survey in a Centre for Maternal and Child Health |
| title_short | Did Italy Really Need Compulsory Vaccination against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers? Results of a Survey in a Centre for Maternal and Child Health |
| title_sort | did italy really need compulsory vaccination against covid 19 for healthcare workers results of a survey in a centre for maternal and child health |
| topic | compulsory COVID-19 vaccination healthcare workers vaccine attitudes vaccine hesitancy vaccine acceptance Italian legislation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/8/1293 |
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