Publication:

Attitude and practice towards COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers in Kerala

Background COVID-19 is a major public health challenge for the whole world. The introduction of vaccines in such a short span of time is a great achievement, but this has also received mistrust and hesitance among the public as well as Healthcare workers (HCW).

Methods This was a descriptive study done during the period of April 2021-May 2021 to assess the attitude and practice towards COVID-19 vaccination among HCW in Kerala. Data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire and the data was analyzed using Epi info software.

Results The study was done among 126 HCW whose mean age was 31.60±7.8 SD years. Majority (91.3%) agreed that COVID-19 vaccine is necessary to control the pandemic and 81.7% had already taken and 11.1% were planning to take soon. Duration of protection (61.1%), protection against new strains (57.1%), inadequate studies on long term effects (47.6%) and inadequate clinical trials (26.9%) were the most common concerns. 79.6% had experienced adverse effects following vaccination. Fever (51.4%), injection site pain (45.6%) and myalgia (41.7%) were the most common adverse effects experienced.

Conclusions Most of the HCW had positive attitude and practice towards COVID-19 vaccination. Only minor adverse effects were reported. But there were still concerns regarding the same which should be addressed.