Dubai Medical Journal (May 2023)
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice among Dubai Health Authority Health Care Workers toward the COVID-19 Vaccine
Abstract
Introduction: Vaccine attitude can change disease progress, facilitate herald immunity among the community, and stop disease progression. According to the available data, there is no current curative treatment against the virus. The only way to stop the spread of infection is to develop the vaccine and accelerate the vaccine, as shown previously with the influenza pandemic. Objective: The study’s main goal was to investigate health care workers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in Dubai Health Authdority (DHA), United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: In April 2021, an anonymous cross-sectional comparative study measured the willingness and hesitancy to take the COVID-19 vaccine among health care providers in the primary health care sector at DHA. Results: In terms of COVID-19 vaccine knowledge, there was widespread agreement on the significance of the vaccine in preventing the transmission of illness (91.6%) and on the vaccine’s value for the public and community (95.6%). Furthermore, based on health care providers’ opinions, most individuals agreed to promote the COVID-19 vaccination in patients, family, and friends (92.7%), with just 6.9% doubtful. In actuality, 72.1 percent of those who got the vaccination received two doses, while 27.9% received just one dosage. In terms of vaccine type, Pfizer (72.7%), Sinopharm (23.8%), and AstraZeneca (3.6%) were the available vaccines during the study period. Discussion: The majority of participants agreed that the vaccine is essential for health care providers and the community (more than 90%), and they were willing to recommend it to their families (92.7%). They also agreed that the vaccine is necessary to prevent the spread of the disease (91 percent), boosting vaccine confidence. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccine was widely accepted by Dubai’s health care workers. Several factors were identified as significant determinants of vaccine acceptance. UAE health care authorities can use the study’s findings to develop public health policies and implement campaigns to address concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine and other emerging infectious diseases.
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