The Status of COVID-19 Vaccination among Healthcare Workers in Najaf Province

ABSTRACT

Vaccine acceptance is essential to complete the vaccination program and reach community-based immunity. On the other hand, vaccine hesitancy is an important limiting factor, particularly among healthcare workers and mainly in lower-income nations. The objective of this study is to evaluate the level of vaccination among healthcare workers. A questionnaire was conducted in which healthcare workers were involved. In this work 528 healthcare workers were involved (7 physicians, 57 dentists, 22 pharmacists, 5 nurses and 9 other jobs). Our findings showed that 90% of participants were infected before vaccination while 10% had no history of infection before vaccination. While 93 % of participants received vaccine only 7% did not. Regarding the number of jabs, 7% of participants received one jab, 79% received two jabs and 14% received three jabs. The incidence of COVID-19 infection was dramatically lower among vaccinated health workers which was accounting for 38% with protection against infection (62% of participants). About 28% of participants who rejected vaccination they did so because they have chronic diseases, 15% rejected vaccination because they are pregnant women, 17% rejected vaccination because of its adverse effects while about 14% did not receive vaccine because of carelessness. Overall, our results show that the vaccination status among healthcare workers in Najaf is satisfying.Copyright © 2023, Colegio de Farmaceuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. All rights reserved.