Acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among health care workers: a cross-sectional survey in Morocco

• Main Authors: Mohamed Khalis (Author), Asmaa Hatim (Author), Latifa Elmouden (Author), Mory Diakite (Author), Abdelghafour Marfak (Author), Soukaina Ait El Haj (Author), Rachid Farah (Author), Mohamed Jidar (Author), Kaba Kanko Conde (Author), Kenza Hassouni (Author), Hafida Charaka (Author), Mark Lacy (Author), Fatima-Zahra Aazi (Author), Chakib Nejjari (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group, 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2164-5515; 2164-554X; 10.1080/21645515.2021.1989921
• Keywords: covid-19; health care workers; vaccine; vaccine acceptance; morocco; Immunologic diseases. Allergy; RC581-607; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, Vol 17, Iss 12, Pp 5076-5081 (2021)

Introduction This study aimed to evaluate the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among health care workers prior to the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Morocco. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Cheikh Khalifa University Hospital of Casablanca-Morocco. Utilizing a web-based platform surveys were distributed over a 3-week period via professional mailing list and social media. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by using logistic regression models. Results A total of 303 health care workers participated in this study. The results showed a relatively high rate of vaccination acceptability (62.0%) among health care workers included in this study. Participants were more likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccine if they were physician, nurse, or technician (OR 1.79; 95% CI: 1.09-2.95), had high score of confidence in the information circulating about COVID-19 (OR 1.91; 95% CI: 1.36-2.69), or had high score of perceived severity of COVID-19 (OR 1.55; 95% CI: 1.11-2.15). Reasons of hesitation/or refusal of COVID-19 vaccine were fear of the likely side effects of the vaccine for 74.8% of participants, and concern about the effectiveness of the vaccine for 47.8%. Conclusion This study showed a relatively high rate of the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among health care workers in Morocco. Willingness to be vaccinated was significantly associated with job category, confidence in the information circulating about COVID-19, and perceived severity of COVID-19. These results could be useful in the development of educational interventions to increase the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among health care workers in Morocco and similar settings.