Who’s vaccinated? A closer look at healthcare workers’ coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and demographics

Abstract

Objective: To compare COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among hospital employees by demographics. Methods: Our institution has offered an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to all employees since January 2021. We collected data on vaccination rates among hospital employees and looked for differences in demographic groups to determine in which groups vaccine hesitancy is the highest. Those who received at least one dose of vaccine were considered “vaccinated” for this study. Results: There was a 71% vaccination rate among all hospital employees as of March 10, 2021. Age over 50 (odds ratio 1.85, 95% CI 1.53 to 2.24, p<0.01), working in a clinical department (odds ratio 1.19, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.42, p = 0.02), and white race compared to black/African American race (odds ratio 4.55, 95% CI 3.74 to 5.52, p<0.01) were all significant factors for receiving vaccination. Gender (odds ratio 1.12, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.35, p=0.10) was not significant. Conclusions: In a population with equal access to the COVID-19 vaccine, there were significant differences in vaccination rates among different demographic groups. Employees under 50 years of age, non-clinical employees, and black/African American employees were less likely to be vaccinated. This suggests that attitudes towards vaccination, and not simply access to the vaccine, are factors in vaccination rates.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Three Latin American Countries: Reasons Given for Not Becoming Vaccinated in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela

“…We found that participants offer a wide variety of reasons why they might not become vaccinated. Although previous research has emphasized the prevalence of myths about the vaccine (Allington et al, 2021a;El-Elimat et al, 2021;García-Montero et al, 2021;Hornsey et al, 2021;Kumari et al, 2021;Montalti et al, 2021;Ullah et al, 2021) or on overcoming exaggerated concerns about safety and side effects (Levin-Zamir, 2020; Thaker, 2021) as key message Fossen et al, 2021;Green et al, 2021;Peteet et al, 2021). Moreover, the wide dispersion of reasons offered indicates that a single-message intervention distributed through mass media is unlikely to succeed.…”

“…Even in environments, such as employees within the same clinic, where everyone has equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, perceptions of these vaccines still remain an important explanation for why some people choose to get vaccinated and others do not (Dzieciolowska et al, 2021;Fossen et al, 2021). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is often attributed to a person's belief in myths and disinformation (Allington et al, 2021a;El-Elimat et al, 2021;García-Montero et al, 2021;Hornsey et al, 2021;Kumari et al, 2021;Montalti et al, 2021;Ullah et al, 2021).…”

“…Alternatively, both perinatal Qatari and Turkish women reported that, alongside concerns about safety and erroneous beliefs of a lack of governmental approval (issues of confidence), a perceived lack of vaccine availability was significant reasons they would choose to not get a vaccine (an issue of convenience) (Goncu Ayhan et al, 2021;Mohan et al, 2021). More broadly, in multiple national contexts, persons who have been marginalized and/or medically underserved are also more likely to be COVID-19 vaccine hesitant, indicating that access concerns should be taken seriously as a factor in getting or not the vaccine (Abedin et al, 2021;Dzieciolowska et al, 2021;Fossen et al, 2021;Green et al, 2021;Peteet et al, 2021). These findings may be indicative of different kinds of barriers to vaccination if we account for the full Vaccine Hesitancy Determinant Matrix.…”

Doubt in store: vaccine hesitancy among grocery workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…As noted with regard to the “3 C’s” model of vaccine hesitancy, convenience is an important factor in increasing vaccine uptake (MacDonald et al, 2015 ). Fossen et al ( 2021 ) determined that healthcare personnel working in clinical areas with the most convenient access to vaccines were more likely to get vaccinated than other types of healthcare professions (for similar results, see King et al, 2021 ).…”

“…As employer mandates for vaccination become an increasingly discussed, yet highly politicized, tool for accomplishing herd immunity to COVID-19, understanding how workplace conditions may influence vaccine hesitancy is critical. Though the extant literature on the relationship between occupation and vaccine hesitancy is limited, emerging findings suggest that variation in vaccine intent between occupational groups is significant (Fossen et al, 2021 ; King et al, 2021 ).…”