Knowledge and perception towards COVID-19 vaccination among health care workers at a tertiary care centre

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused an enormous impact on the health care system. The most effective way of controlling infectious diseases like COVID-19 is often vaccination. Health care workers have a key role in reducing the burden of the pandemic, role modeling preventive behaviours, and helping to vaccinate others. Objective: The aim of the study was to find the knowledge, and perception towards COVID-19 vaccination among health care workers. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital from 1st June 2021 to 30th June 2021. Ethical clearance was taken from the institutional review committee (Ref. 2005202101). Convenience sampling was done. All the health care workers of the hospital who provided consent for the study were included in the study. Collected data were entered and analysed using SPSS v.24. Results: In this study, 270 health care workers were included, out of which 90 (33.3%) were male and 180 (66.7%) were female. The majority (176, 65.2%) of the health care workers got vaccinated to boost their immunity. The most common factor causing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in health care workers initially was the safety of the vaccine (133, 49.3%). Conclusion: The majority of the participants had good knowledge and positive perception of the COVID-19 vaccines. It demonstrates the need for effective education and communication designed to enhance knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccine and to teach vaccine counselling skills to the health care workers.