HEALTHCARE WORKERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARD COVID-19 VACCINE IN DUHOK GOVERNORATE

Background: Healthcare workers have a great role in contributing the vaccination among the population and their oriented health attitude is thought to be of major significance for protection against covid-19. The aim of this study was to determine the vaccination acceptance and refusal among healthcare workers and the possible causes, also to investigate the socio-economic-demographic factors affecting their attitude. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Duhok governorate to assess the attitude of healthcare workers toward covid-19 vaccine, and this was held by direct interview with the participants. The questionnaire was of 2 parts, the socio-demographics and the attitude of healthcare workers toward the vaccine. Results: A total of 562 healthcare workers participated in this survey; 94.1% of them displayed a positive attitude toward the vaccine while 5.9% revealed a negative attitude. 67.3% of the participants had received the vaccine, and 72.7% of the unvaccinated participants claimed their main cause of refusal was their concern about the safety of the vaccine. There was a statistically significant relation between healthcare workers’ occupation and vaccine acceptance (p = 0.048), where pharmacists had the highest rate of vaccination (100%) compared to the cleaning staff (77.3%). Also participants’ age group (45-60) years showed higher acceptance rate than other age groups. Conclusions: Covid-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers in the Duhok governorate was high. The findings may help the management authorities to give more information about the vaccine and contribute to improving healthcare workers’ attitudes to reach the goal of 100% vaccination.