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. 2023 Mar;13(1):55-66.
doi: 10.1007/s44197-023-00086-4. Epub 2023 Feb 3.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy Among Health Care Workers in Lebanon

Nour J Youssef  1   2 , Nadim K Tfaily #  1 , Mohammad Bahij M Moumneh #  1 , Celina F Boutros  1 , Jad A Elharake  3   4 , Amyn A Malik  3   4 , SarahAnn M McFadden  3   4 , Bayan Galal  5 , Inci Yildirim  3   4 , Kaveh Khoshnood  6 , Saad B Omer  3   4   6   7 , Ziad A Memish  8   9   10 , Ghassan S Dbaibo  11   12
Affiliations

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy Among Health Care Workers in Lebanon

Nour J Youssef et al. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Lebanon endured its worst economic and financial crisis in 2020-2021. To minimize the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to improve the overall COVID-19 vaccination rate. Given that vaccine hesitancy among health care workers (HCWs) affects the general population's decision to be vaccinated, our study assessed COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Lebanon HCWs and identified barriers, demographic differences, and the most trusted sources of COVID-19 information.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2021 among HCWs across nine hospitals, the Orders of Physicians, Nurses, and Pharmacists in Lebanon. Descriptive statistics were performed to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, and univariate and multivariable to identify their predictors.

Results: Among 879 participants, 762 (86.8%) were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, 52 (5.9%) refused, and 64 (7.3%) were undecided. Males (226/254; 88.9%) and those ≥ 55 years (95/100; 95%) had the highest rates of acceptance. Of the 113 who were not willing to receive the vaccine, 54.9% reported that the vaccine was not studied well enough. Participants with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and those who did not know if they had a previous infection (p = 0.002) were less likely to accept the vaccine compared to those with no previous infection. The most trusted COVID-19 sources of information were WHO (69.3%) and healthcare providers (68%).

Conclusion: Lebanese HCWs had a relatively high acceptance rate for COVID-19 vaccination compared to other countries. Our findings are important in informing the Lebanese health care authorities to establish programs and interventions to improve vaccine uptake among HCWs and the general population.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health care workers; Lebanon; Refusal, trust; Vaccine acceptance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A Rate of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among HCWs in Lebanon. B Reasons for COVID-19 vaccine refusal among HCWs in Lebanon
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Reliability of COVID-19 sources of information among HCWs
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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