Perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to receive vaccination among health workers in Nigeria

Adejumo, Oluseyi Ademola; Ogundele, Olorunfemi Akinbode; Madubuko, Cynthia Roli; Oluwafemi, Rosena Olubanke; Okoye, Ogochukwu Chinedum; Okonkwo, Kenechukwu Chukwuemeka; Owolade, Sunday Samson; Junaid, Oladimeji Adedeji; Lawal, Olutoyin Morenike; Enikuomehin, Adenike Christianah; Ntaji, Maureen Iru; Sokunbi, Aisha; Timothy, Aina Omodele; Abolarin, Olatunji Sunday; Ali, Emmanuel Olalekan; Ohaju-Obodo, John Oghenevwirhe

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to examine health workers’ perceptions of the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine in Nigeria and their willingness to receive the vaccine when it becomes available. METHODS: This multi-center cross-sectional study used non-probability convenience sampling to enroll 1,470 hospital workers aged 18 and above from 4 specialized hospitals. A structured and validated self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data entry and analysis were conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 22.0. RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 40±6 years. Only 53.5% of the health workers had positive perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine, and only slightly more than half (55.5%) were willing to receive vaccination. Predictors of willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine included having a positive perception of the vaccine (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 4.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.50−5.69), perceiving a risk of contracting COVID-19 (AOR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.25–3.98), having received tertiary education (AOR, 3.50; 95% CI, 1.40−6.86), and being a clinical health worker (AOR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01−1.68). CONCLUSION: Perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to receive the vaccine were sub-optimal among this group. Educational interventions to improve health workers' perceptions and attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine are needed.