Prevalence and Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance among Greek Health Care Workers and Administrative Officers of Primary Health Care Centers: A Nationwide Study Indicating Aspects for a Role Model

Abstract

Background: Τhe study aims to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and to investigate knowledge and perceptions of Primary Health Care Centers (PHCC) personnel, who acted as pioneers in the national COVID-19 vaccination strategy. Methods and Materials: A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted by distributing an online anonymous questionnaire comprising 25 questions during the first semester of 2021. Results: Approximately 85.3% of the 1136 respondents (response rate 28.4%) were vaccinated or intended to be. The acceptance of seasonal flu vaccine (aOR: 3.29, 95%CI: 2.08–5.20), correct COVID-19 vaccine knowledge (aOR: 8.37, 95%CI: 4.81–14.59) and lack of concern regarding vaccine novelty (aOR: 6.18, 95%CI: 3.91–9.77) were positively correlated with vaccine acceptance. Vaccinated respondents were more likely to be physicians (aOR: 2.29, 95%CI: 1.03–5.09) or administrative staff (aOR: 2.65, 95%CI: 1.18–5.97) compared to nursing stuff. Reasons for vaccine hesitancy included inadequate information (37.8%) and vaccine safety (31.9%). Vaccine acceptance was strongly correlated (Spearman’s correlation coefficient r = 0.991, p < 0.001) between PHCC personnel and the general population of each health district. Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among PHCC personnel in Greece was comparably high, but specific groups (nurses) were hesitant. As the survey’s target population could serve as a role model for the community, efforts should be made to improve COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Nationwide Survey on Seasonal Influenza Vaccination among Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece: Determinants, Barriers and Peculiarities

“…Conversely, nurses are one of the most vaccine-resistant occupational groups. Similar findings were observed in studies related to COVID-19 vaccination [ 28 , 29 , 50 , 51 ]. This behavior demonstrates a lack of risk perception ability for this specific occupational group, which could suggest hazards for both themselves and their patients.…”

“…This confirms the results of other surveys demonstrating greater hesitancy of nurses toward SIV vaccination compared with physicians [ 17 , 42 , 43 ]. Moreover, several studies noted that physicians are more vaccine-acceptant, whether related to SIV or any other vaccine [ 28 , 29 , 39 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. Similarly, a Greek survey conducted during the H1N1 pandemic examining HCWs’ uptake of the H1N1 vaccine revealed that physicians were more acceptant compared to other HCWs [ 49 ].…”

“…Importance of disease prevention measures should be widely communicated by physicians in this specific group, and this could be a possible explanation for our findings. However, two studies conducted by our research team involving HCWs and COVID-19 vaccination observed no differences concerning vaccination status between vulnerable and non-vulnerable participants [ 28 , 29 ]. The novelty of COVID-19 vaccines may affect participants’ behavior, as the primary reason for refusal was fear related to vaccine safety.…”

“…An interesting finding from studies conducted in Greece reflected a positive correlation between HCW COVID-19 vaccination intention and that of the general population. Significant differences were seen for both groups by health district, indicating that HCWs could serve as role models for the general population [ 28 , 29 ].…”

Medical Residents’ Behaviours toward Compulsory COVID-19 Vaccination in a Tertiary Hospital in Italy

“…According to our findings, the rate of resident doctors who adhered to the COVID-19 vaccination programme is close to 100%; in fact, only 0.26% of them did not receive a vaccination. These results show a very high compliance rate of MRs towards compulsory vaccination even compared to studies performed in other states [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”