Working Paper Article Version 1 This version is not peer-reviewed

A Comparison of the Level of Acceptance and Hesitancy towards the Influenza Vaccine and the Forthcoming COVID-19 Vaccine in the Medical Community

Version 1 : Received: 9 April 2021 / Approved: 12 April 2021 / Online: 12 April 2021 (12:33:15 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Grochowska, M.; Ratajczak, A.; Zdunek, G.; Adamiec, A.; Waszkiewicz, P.; Feleszko, W. A Comparison of the Level of Acceptance and Hesitancy towards the Influenza Vaccine and the Forthcoming COVID-19 Vaccine in the Medical Community. Vaccines 2021, 9, 475. Grochowska, M.; Ratajczak, A.; Zdunek, G.; Adamiec, A.; Waszkiewicz, P.; Feleszko, W. A Comparison of the Level of Acceptance and Hesitancy towards the Influenza Vaccine and the Forthcoming COVID-19 Vaccine in the Medical Community. Vaccines 2021, 9, 475.

Abstract

Despite the research conducted worldwide, there is no treatment specific for SARS-CoV-2 infection with efficacy proven by randomized controlled trials. A chance for a breakthrough is vaccinating the majority of the global population. The public opinion surveys on vaccine hesitancy prompted our team to investigate the Polish medical community's attitude towards the SARS-CoV-2 and influenza vaccinations. In-person and online surveys of Healthcare Workers (HCWs): doctors, nurses, medical students, and other allied health professionals (n=419) took place between 14.09.2020 and 5.11.2020. In our study, 68.7% of respondents would like to be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine. The safety and efficacy of vaccination against COVID-19 would persuade 86.3% of hesitant and those who would refuse to be vaccinated. 3.1% of all respondents claimed that no argument would convince them to get vaccinated. 61.6% of respondents declared a willingness to receive an influenza vaccination, of which 83.3% were also inclined to receive the planned COVID-19 vaccination. Although a significant part of respondents - 62.5% (262/419) indicated, they trusted the influenza vaccine more than the COVID-19 vaccine in direct comparison, more respondents intended to get the COVID-19 vaccination than the influenza vaccine in the 2020/2021 season.

Keywords

COVID-19; vaccine; vaccine hesitancy; Healthcare Workers; Flu vaccine; Influenza; SARS-CoV-2

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Immunology and Allergy

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.