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. 2022 Jul 25:10:938067.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.938067. eCollection 2022.

COVID-19 vaccine booster hesitancy (VBH) of healthcare professionals and students in Poland: Cross-sectional survey-based study

Arkadiusz Dziedzic  1 , Julien Issa  2   3 , Salman Hussain  4 , Marta Tanasiewicz  1 , Robert Wojtyczka  5 , Robert Kubina  6 , Marta Dyszkiewicz Konwinska  2   7 , Abanoub Riad  8
Affiliations

COVID-19 vaccine booster hesitancy (VBH) of healthcare professionals and students in Poland: Cross-sectional survey-based study

Arkadiusz Dziedzic et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Since healthcare professionals (HCPs) play a critical role in shaping their local communities' attitudes toward vaccines, HCPs' beliefs and attitudes toward vaccination are of vital importance for primary prevention strategies. The present study was designed as a cross-sectional survey-based study utilizing a self-administered questionnaire to collect data about COVID-19 vaccine booster hesitancy (VBH) among Polish HCPs and students of medical universities (MUSs). Out of the 443 included participants, 76.3% were females, 52.6% were HCPs, 31.8% were previously infected by SARS-CoV-2, and 69.3% had already received COVID-19 vaccine booster doses (VBD). Overall, 74.5% of the participants were willing to receive COVID-19 VBD, while 7.9 and 17.6% exhibited their hesitance and rejection, respectively. The most commonly found promoter for acceptance was protection of one's health (95.2%), followed by protection of family's health (81.8%) and protection of community's health (63.3%). Inferential statistics did not show a significant association between COVID-19 VBH and demographic variables, e.g., age and gender; however, the participants who had been previously infected by SARS-CoV-2 were significantly more inclined to reject the VBD. Protection from severe infection, community transmission, good safety profile, and favorable risk-benefit ratio were the significant determinants of the COVID-19 VBD acceptance and uptake. Fear of post-vaccination side effects was one of the key barriers for accepting COVID-19 VBD, which is consistent with the pre-existing literature. Public health campaigns need to highlight the postulated benefits of vaccines and the expected harms of skipping VBD.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccines; Poland; cross-sectional studies; decision making; healthcare professionals; vaccination hesitancy.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine booster-related attitudes of polish healthcare professionals and students responding to COVID-19 VBH survey, December 2021–January 2022 (n = 443).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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