Intention to Receive the Second Round of COVID-19 Vaccine Among Healthcare Workers in Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background COVID-19 pandemic has remained one of the leading causes of death which claimed the lives of many well-trained and experienced healthcare professionals. Vaccination is the most effective way of controlling infectious diseases, while success is challenged by individuals and groups who choose to delay or refuse vaccines. The objective of the present study was to assess the intention of healthcare workers in Eastern Ethiopia to receive the second round of COVID-19 vaccine. Methods Institution-based cross-sectional survey research design was used to collect quantitative data from a representative sample of healthcare workers in Dire Dawa, Haramaya, and Harar towns of Eastern Ethiopia. The correctly filled questionnaires were selected and entered into SPSS software for further analysis, where frequency tables, percentages, mean, and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used in the process. Results The findings revealed that most (61.6%) of the research participants are willing to receive the second round of COVID-19 vaccine, and 10.3% reported that they have not decided yet. Moreover, the main reason for respondents’ lack of intention to receive the second round of COVID-19 vaccine is the belief that the first round of COVID-19 vaccine is sufficient to prevent infection (27.8%) followed by concern over the safety or side effects of the vaccine (26.6%). Above all, the healthcare workers’ intention of taking the second round of COVID-19 vaccine is significantly associated to having children (OR=0.362, P <0.05; 95% CI: 3.279–5465.189), previous interaction with someone infected by COVID-19 (OR=1.480, P <0.05; 95% CI: 3.949–0.055), the perception that COVID-19 causes a severe illness (OR=0.018, P <0.05, 95% CI: 13.489–196.391), and experience of receiving the first round of COVID-19 vaccine (OR=50431.104, P <0.01; 95% CI: 408.789–626.00). Conclusion The present study has shown that healthcare workers in Eastern Ethiopia have a good intention of receiving the second round of COVID-19 vaccine. Nevertheless, the findings have also made it clear that there are still issues to be addressed as far as both willingness to receive the second round of the vaccine and experience of taking the first round of the vaccine are concerned. It is, therefore, important that sufficient training should be given to the healthcare workers in the area in order to raise their level of awareness and enhance their willingness to receive the second round of the vaccine.

Attitude of health professionals towards COVID-19 vaccination and associated factors among health professionals, Western Ethiopia: A cross-sectional survey

“…Accordingly, 31.55% of the study participants had agreed to take the vaccine without hesitation if available in the present study. This is lower than the study findings from Southwestern Ethiopia (48.4%) [23], Eastern Ethiopia (61.4%) [33], Bangladesh (58.6%) [34], Canada (72.40) [35]. The possible explanation for this might be the variation in trust and reliability of the source of information about COVID-19 vaccine.…”

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and its associated factors in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…All of the articles included in this meta-analysis were cross-sectional designs. Of fourteen studies included, 5 were from SNNPR region, 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 5 were from Amhara region, 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 3 were nationwide studies 40 , 41 , 42 and 1 was from Addis Ababa city administration. 43 All articles were published in 2021.…”

Knowledge and Proportion of COVID-19 Vaccination and Associated Factors Among Cancer Patients Attending Public Hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2021: A Multicenter Study

“… 25 , 39 Based on a survey conducted in the Ethiopian population, the vaccine acceptance rate was found to be 31.4%, 30 and another study on health care providers found that 63.4% of participants had received the first round of COVID-19 vaccine and 61.6% were willing to receive the second round of COVID-19 vaccine, which was higher than the current study, though the study population was the general population. 29 The main reasons of patients who did not support the first round of vaccination were concern about the safety and side effects of the vaccine (84.4%) followed by hearing rumors that the vaccine may have severe side effects or even cause COVID-19 infection in cancer patients (54.6%), while thoughts that the first round of the vaccine was sufficient (62.9%), and experiencing minor side effects/discomfort during the first dose of the vaccine (35.2%) were the major reasons for refusing the second round of the vaccine. Various factors such as individuals’ beliefs about vaccination, physicians’ recommendations, socio-demographic and economic factors may affect cancer patients’ willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine.…”

“…Furthermore, a structured checklist was employed to abstract secondary data from patients' charts about the type of cancer, duration since cancer diagnosis, active cancer treatment status, and past/current COVID-19 infection experience. The questionnaire was prepared by reviewing many international studies with some modifications in the local context, 15,[28][29][30] but most questions were developed by the researcher by consulting oncologists. The questionnaire was first prepared in English and then translated to Amharic language and the final tool was prepared in English after retranslating the Amharic version for consistency purposes.…”