COVID-19 vaccine confidence and reasons for vaccination among health care workers and household members

Angela K Ulrich; Grace K Pankratz; Bruno Bohn; Stephanie Yendell; Timothy J Beebe; Craig W Hedberg; Ryan T Demmer

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.07.057

COVID-19 vaccine confidence and reasons for vaccination among health care workers and household members

Vaccine. 2022 Sep 29;40(41):5856-5859. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.07.057. Epub 2022 Aug 5.

Authors

Angela K Ulrich¹, Grace K Pankratz², Bruno Bohn², Stephanie Yendell³, Timothy J Beebe⁴, Craig W Hedberg⁵, Ryan T Demmer²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Electronic address: ulric063@umn.edu.
² Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
³ Minnesota Department of Health, COVID-19 Data and Forecasting Branch, St. Paul, MN, USA.
⁴ Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
⁵ Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Abstract

Background: The majority of healthcare workers (HCW) in the US report being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, yet little is known about vaccine decision-making for their household members, including children.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey July-August 2021 of HCW and their household members in Minnesota.

Results: 94 % of eligible participants were vaccinated with the most common reasons being wanting to protect oneself, family and loved ones. Safety concerns were the most commonly reported reasons for not being vaccinated; a significantly higher proportion of unvaccinated compared to vaccinated HCW (58 % vs 12 %, p = 0.0035) and household adults (25 % vs 5 %, p = 0.03) reported prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nearly half of unvaccinated adults and two-thirds of unvaccinated children would be vaccinated if a vaccine mandate were in place.

Conclusions: Despite high COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among HCWs, more research is required to identify and address the needs and concerns of healthcare workers who decline COVID-19 vaccination despite availability.

Keywords: COVID-19; Healthcare worker; Motivation; Vaccination.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19 Vaccines*
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Health Personnel
Humans
SARS-CoV-2
Vaccination

Substances

COVID-19 Vaccines

Grants and funding

P2C HD041023/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States