The COVID-19 crisis as a vector for changes in healthcare

Objective. To assess the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the attitudes of Belarusian doctors toward vaccination.Materials and methods. A questionnaire survey has been conducted using the Google Forms service for doctors of different specialties in the Republic of Belarus.Results. A total of 1815 doctors from 7 regions of the Republic of Belarus participated in the survey. A considerable part of the respondents (79,89%, or 1450 people) have a positive attitude to vaccination, 16,42% (298 people) – neutral, a part of the respondents (3,69%, or 67 people) have a negative attitude towards vaccination. The highest percentage of positive evaluations of the attitude towards vaccination was revealed among infectious disease doctors, pediatricians and doctors of prophylactic specialization. For a significant proportion of respondents (62.7%, or 1,138 people), the pandemic raised an interest in vaccination issues. The attitudes toward vaccination by the majority of surveyed physicians either remained unchanged (49.2%, or 893 people) or changed for the better (47.22%, or 857 people). The vast majority of respondents are vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza. Willingness to be vaccinated against influenza was most noted among infectious disease specialists and prophylactic physicians.Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic changed more than just practical medicine and science, it also transformed the information field, initiated educational reforms, and demonstrated the importance of human values. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the physicians’ growing interest in vaccination.