Vaccine hesitancy among primary care health workers in Campo Grande, after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

Objective: To analyze vaccine hesitancy among primary care health workers, including the factors associated with it.

Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study carried out between November 2022 and August 2023 in the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, through the application of a questionnaire on vaccine hesitancy proposed by the World Health Organization. The association of vaccine hesitancy with sociodemographic variables and workers' perceptions was verified by bivariate analysis and multiple variables.

Results: Vaccine hesitancy was observed in 32.7% of respondents, with a higher frequency after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (64.9%). The coronavirus-19 vaccine had the highest frequency of hesitation (68.4%). Doctors and nurses were the least hesitant, while community workers were the most hesitant. Believing that there are reasons for people not to get vaccinated was associated with vaccine hesitancy (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 3.01; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 1.60; 5.71). On the other hand, receiving institutional guidance to get vaccinated (OR 0.30; 95%CI 0.11; 0.78) and believing that hesitation affects the population's vaccination coverage (OR 0.46; 95%CI 0.25; 0.83) were factors associated with low hesitation frequency.

Conclusion: Vaccine hesitancy was common among primary care professionals. The COVID-19 pandemic and the infodemic that followed it appear to have contributed to this scenery. The need for interventions aimed at these workers is highlighted, in order to impact vaccination coverage of the general population.