In 2019, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)) caused a global pandemic. There was an urgent need to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 to reduce its spread and economic burden. The main objective of this study was to understand the attitudes and concerns of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine, whether their decision was influenced by their history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine, and factors that influence the acceptance of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We selected and surveyed 356 HCWs via an electronic self-administered questionnaire. A total of 61.16% of HCWs were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and 55.9% of them had received the seasonal influenza vaccine in the preceding year (2019–2020). The strongest predictors for taking the COVID-19 vaccine were the HCWs’ belief that the COVID-19 vaccine would be safe, needed even for healthy people, that all HCWs should be vaccinated against COVID-19, and that HCWs will have time to take the vaccine. Being female, being middle aged, having <5 years of work experience, having no fear of injections, and being a non-smoker were predictive factors for taking the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. No associations were found between the intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine and a history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Vaccine, pandemic, acceptance, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19 vaccine, cross-sectional, Saudi Arabia, healthcare worker, global pandemic, Spread, HCWs, female, Intention, predictor, questionnaire, association, Safe, HCW, Predictive, Seasonal influenza, acute respiratory syndrome, Factor, Injections, being, selected, develop, caused, healthy, conducted, reduce, the vaccine, receive, vaccinated against COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 exposure to, term, Upcoming,