Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Abstract
BACKGROUND: COVID‑19 has led to significant morbidity and mortality globally in addition to
unprecedented disruption in economic activities. Vaccination against it is considered to be the only
sustainable way out of this pandemic. The study was conducted to estimate vaccine acceptance
among doctors in India using an online survey.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross‑sectional study using a purposive sampling method was
conducted two weeks before vaccine rollout. A pretested questionnaire developed using Google
forms was shared by social media groups targeting doctors only.The questions collected information
regarding socio‑demographic details, knowledge, attitude and practices towards COVID‑19
vaccination. Data was downloaded and analysed using SPSS‑v23. Chi‑square test and fisher exact
test was used and P < 0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS: A total of 511 records were included in the final analysis of which 340 (66.53%) reported
to be either definitely or probably willing to accept COVID‑19 vaccine. One third of respondents were
working in COVID‑19 designated hospitals (37.2%), 30% were posted in non COVID‑19 hospitals,
25.1% had no direct contact with COVID‑19 patients while 7.7% doctors were involved in testing
COVID‑19 diagnosis. Subjects who perceived a higher risk of contracting COVID‑19, those who
perceived that vaccine would be effective against COVID‑19 and those who felt that vaccine will not
have any serious side effects were more likely to accept the vaccine.
CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need to address any apprehensions regarding COVID‑19 vaccines.
A tailored and intensified advocacy program for doctors is needed before the launch of vaccine.
Keywords
- WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [Internet]. Covid19.
who.int. 2022 [cited 2 January 2021]. Available from: https://
covid19.who.int/.
2. Ghosh A, Nundy S, Mallick TK. How India is dealing with
COVID‑19 pandemic. Sens Int 2020;1:100021.
3. Wu YC, Chen CS, Chan YJ. The outbreak of COVID‑19: An
overview. J Chin Med Assoc 2020;83:217‑20.
4. Min Y and Perucci F. UN/DESA Policy Brief #81: Impact of
COVID-19 on SDG Progress: A Statistical Perspective. Available
online at: www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/
un-desa-policy-brief-81-impact-of-covid-19-on-sdg-progress-astatistical-perspective/ (Accessed July 2021).
5. MHA issues new Guidelines [Internet]. Pib.gov.in. 2022 Available
from: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1649623.
6. WHO. Draft landscape of COVID‑19 candidate vaccines. 2021.
Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/
draft‑landscape‑of‑covid19‑candidate‑vaccines . [Last accessed
on 2021 Jan 26].
7. Kumar VM, Pandi-Perumal RS, Trakht I, Thyagarajan SP. Strategy
for COVID-19 vaccination in India : the country with the second
highest population and number of cases. npj Vaccines [Internet].
2021;6(60). Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41541021-00327-2.
8. Sreeganga, S. D., Ajay Chandra, and Arkalgud Ramaprasad.
2021. “Ontological Analysis of COVID‑19 Vaccine Roll out
Strategies: A Comparison of India and the United States
of America” International Journal of Environmental Research
and Public Health 18, no. 14: 7483. https://doi.org/10.3390/
ijerph 18147483.
9. Pennington TH. Herd immunity : could it bring the COVID-19
pandemic to an end ? Futur Micobiology. 2021;10–2.
10. Amin DP, Palter JS. COVID‑19 vaccination hesitancy among
healthcare personnel in the emergency department deserves
continued attention. Am J Emerg Med 2021;48:372‑3.
11. Meyer MN, Gjorgjieva T, Rosica D. Trends in health care worker
intentions to receive a COVID‑19 vaccine and reasons for
hesitancy. JAMA Netw Open 2021;4:e215344.
12. Agyekum MW, Afrifa‑anane GF, Kyei‑arthur F, Addo B.
Acceptability of COVID‑19 vaccination among health care workers
in Ghana. Hindawi Volume 2021 |Article ID 9998176 | https://
doi.org/10.1155/2021/9998176.
13. Krishnamoorthy Y, Kannusamy S, Sarveswaran G, Majella MG,
Sarkar S, Narayanan V. Factors related to vaccine hesitancy during
the implementation of Measles – Rubella campaign 2017 in rural
Puducherry – A mixed – Method study. J Fam Med Prim Care
2019;8:3962‑70.
14. Karafillakis E, Simas C, Jarrett C, Verger P, Peretti‑Watel P,
Dib F, et al. HPV vaccination in a context of public mistrust and
uncertainty: A systematic literature review of determinants of
HPV vaccine hesitancy in Europe. Hum Vaccin Immunother
2019;15:1615‑27.
15. Fisher KA, Bloomstone SJ, Walder J, Crawford S, Fouayzi H,
Mazor KM. Attitudes toward a potential SARS‑CoV‑2 vaccine:
A survey of U.S. adults. Ann Intern Med 2020;173:964‑73.
16. Al‑Mohaithef M, Padhi BK. Determinants of COVID‑19 vaccine
acceptance in Saudi Arabia: A web‑based national survey.
J Multidiscip Healthc 2020;13:1657‑63.
17. Victoria C Lucia, Arati Kelekar, Nelia M Afonso, COVID‑19
vaccine hesitancy among medical students, Journal of Public
Health, Volume 43, Issue 3, September 2021, Pages 445–
449, https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaa230.
18. LinY, HuZ, ZhaoQ, Alias H, DanaeeM, WongLP. Understanding
COVID‑19 vaccine demand and hesitancy: A nationwide online
survey in China. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020;14:e0008961.
19. Khubchandani J, Sharma S, Price JH, Wiblishauser MJ, Sharma M,
Webb FJ. COVID‑19 vaccination hesitancy in the United States:
A rapid national assessment. J Community Health 2021;46:270‑7.
20. Reiter PL, Pennell ML, Katz ML. Acceptability of a COVID‑19
vaccine among adults in the United States: How many people
would get vaccinated? Vaccine 2020;38:6500‑7.
21. Kreps S, Prasad S, Brownstein JS, HswenY, Garibaldi BT, Zhang B,
et al. Factors associated with us adults’ likelihood of accepting
COVID‑19 vaccination. JAMA Netw Open 2020;3:e2025594. - 22. Nedjai R, Ouinez K. Fiqh Istihlak and Istihalah on COVID-19
vaccine. In: Virtual International Halal Science Conference
2021(vIHASC’2021). 2021.
23. Grabenstein JD. What the World’s religions teach, applied to
vaccines and immune globins. Vaccine 2013;31:2011‑23.
24. Biswas N, Mustapha T, Khubchandani J, Price JH. The nature and
extent of COVID‑19 vaccination hesitancy in healthcare workers.
J Community Health 2021;46:1244‑51.
25. Paris C, Bénézit F, Geslin M, Polard E, Baldeyrou M, Turmel V,
et al. COVID‑19 vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers.
Infect Dis Now 2021;51:484‑7.
26. Schwarzinger M, Watson V, Arwidson P, Alla F, Luchini S.
COVID‑19 vaccine hesitancy in a representative working‑age
population in France: A survey experiment based on vaccine
characteristics. Lancet Public Health 2021;6:e210‑21.
)