Prevalence of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Its Associated Factors among Health Care Workers in Imo State, Nigeria

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is an important public health concern which leaves healthcare workers at a high risk of getting infected with COVID-19. The lack in acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine sets the stage for increased morbidity and mortality among every age group globally. Therefore, acceptance of the vaccine is an effective strategy and major role in combating COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Health Care Workers in Imo state, Nigeria.

Methodology: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study on the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its associated factors among HCWs in Federal Medical Centre, Owerri and Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu. An electronic survey heart questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Science v23 and the result was presented using frequencies and proportions.

Results: The overall prevalence of hesitant among HCWs in Imo state is 35.4%. The majority of the participants are female (54.2%) single (53.6 %) and with a first degree as the highest level of education (70.9%) A higher proportion of Non-Vaccine hesitant compared to vaccine hesitant reported that COVID 19 infection is real, (96.9%, 81.3%); A higher proportion of Vaccine hesitant compared to non-vaccine hesitant reported that they do not trust information from the internet/social media about COVID-19 and vaccine, (80.5%, 64.7%); that information from internet/social media made them worry about taking vaccine, (65.0%, 58.5%); that they feel there isn’t enough information about vaccine and its safety, (54.5%, 42.9%); A higher proportion of Non-Vaccine hesitant compared to vaccine hesitant reported that their consideration for the vaccine depend on how safe it is perceived, (84.4%, 80.5%); that their consideration for the vaccine depend on how long it has been tested, (74.6%, 69.6%); A higher proportion of Vaccine hesitant compared to non-vaccine hesitant reported that their consideration for the vaccine does not depend on the vaccine cost, (78.9%, 71.9%).

Conclusion: In this study approximately 1 out of every 3 HCWs surveyed reported being vaccine hesitant. Having hesitant among HCWs is a drawback to the success of the ongoing mass vaccination and COVID-19 eradication.