Early COVID-19 Vaccination of Romanian Medical and Social Personnel
Loredana Sabina Cornelia Manolescu,
Corneliu Nicolae Zaharia,
Anca Irina Dumitrescu,
Irina Prasacu,
Mihaela Corina Radu,
Adrian Calin Boeru,
Liliana Boidache,
Irina Nita,
Andrei Necsulescu,
Razvan Daniel Chivu
Affiliations
Loredana Sabina Cornelia Manolescu
Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Virology, Faculty of Midwives and Nursing, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Corneliu Nicolae Zaharia
Department of Virology, Institute of Virology “Stefan S. Nicolau”, 030304 Bucharest, Romania
Anca Irina Dumitrescu
Department of Fundamental Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Irina Prasacu
Department of Fundamental Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Mihaela Corina Radu
Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Virology, Faculty of Midwives and Nursing, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Adrian Calin Boeru
Department of Birth, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, 100409 Ploieşti, Romania
Liliana Boidache
Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Virology, Faculty of Midwives and Nursing, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Irina Nita
Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Virology, Faculty of Midwives and Nursing, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Andrei Necsulescu
Department of Emergency, Central Military Emergency University Hospital “Dr. Carol Davila”, 010825 Bucharest, Romania
Razvan Daniel Chivu
Department of Public Health and Health Management, Faculty of Midwives and Nursing, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Background: In December 2020, the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Romania and were made available to medical and social staff. Vaccine hesitancy appeared as a barrier to effectively ending the pandemic. The opinions of medical and social staff influence the opinion of the general population. This study assesess the attitudes, knowledge, and opinion of medical and social personnel toward COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination and the influencing factors. Methods: 1025 persons participated in an online cross-sectional study from March until July 2021. Results: Out of 1021 eligible responders, 719 (70.42%) had been vaccinated: 227 with one dose (22.23%) and 492 with two doses (48.18%). There were 302 responders who were not vaccinated at all. Out of them, 188 refused vaccinations. The participants showed a good understanding and knowledge of SARScoV-2 transmission and treatment. Geographic area, medical profession, and medical experience influenced COVID-19 vaccination (p < 0.001). There were no associations between willingness to vaccinate and vaccine/virus knowledge. Most of the responders who were vaccinated or wanted to be vaccinated indicated an mRNA vaccine as their first choice. The variables that were significantly associated with reporting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance after logistic regression were: living in an urban area (Ora = 1.58, 95% CI: 0.98–2.56), being female (Ora = 1.59; 95% CI:1.03–2.44), and being a medical doctor (Ora = 3.40; 95% CI: 1.84–6.26). Conclusions: These findings show that vaccine hesitancy persists in medical and social personnel in Romania, and, hence, it may be reflected in the hesitancy of the general population toward vaccination.
