Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Abstract
BACKGROUND: For any effective vaccination strategy, the willingness of the beneficiaries and its
contributing factors are important. This study was conducted among the health‑care workers (HCWs)
and community members to find the perceptions regarding the COVID‑19 vaccine and understand
the influencers and the barriers of vaccine acceptance.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted from October 2020 to December
2020 in two primary care settings in an urban area. Eighteen in‑depth interviews (IDIs) after taking
consent were conducted with the help of IDI guide developed and validated beforehand by the experts.
IDIs were done among the ten community members and eight HCWs selected conveniently. Data
collection were continued till data saturation when no new information yielded from the interviews.
Thematic analysis was performed.
RESULTS: All the participants were hopeful about availability of the vaccine. The key influencers
identified for promoting willingness to accept the vaccine among both the groups were opinion of the
health‑care providers, colleagues’ and other people’s acceptance of the vaccine, effectiveness of
vaccine on other people, and perceived risk of the disease. Fear of adverse reactions was the most
important barrier among all the respondents. The prevalent perception was that other preventive
practices and vaccine together can only be the best solution to prevent COVID‑19 illness. The
HCWs perceived that acceptance of vaccine among the community members would be good overall
but apprehended some initial difficulties. Mass campaign to promote COVID‑19 vaccination and
sensitization events are the need of the hour.
CONCLUSIONS: Since opinion of health‑care personnel emerged as an important influencer of
vaccine acceptance, mass campaign and sensitization programs spearheaded by the health‑care
providers can bring about change by increasing the vaccine acceptance among the beneficiaries
at large. Re‑enforcement regarding practice of preventive measures should be made among the
population irrespective of the vaccination status.
Keywords
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