COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Health Care Workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jad A Elharake, Yale Institute for Global Health; Bayan Galal, Yale University; Saleh A Alqahtani, The Johns Hopkins University Hospital; Rana F Kattan, King Saud University for Health Sciences; Mazin A Barry, King Saud University; Mohamad-Hani Temsah, King Saud University; Amyn A Malik, Yale Institute for Global Health; SarahAnn M McFadden, Yale Institute for Global Health; Inci Yildirim, Emory University; Kaveh Khoshnood, Yale School of Public Health; Saad Omer, Emory University; Ziad Memish, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-07-30
• Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 The Author(s)
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2021.07.004
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
• Volume: 109
• Start Page: 286
• End Page: 293
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the Yale Institute for Global Health. Funders played no role in 1) study design; 2) the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; 3) the writing of the manuscript; or 4) the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The authors had full access to the data and are responsible for the findings presented in this manuscript.
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; refusal; Infectious Diseases; vaccine acceptance; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; COVID-19; trust; health care workers
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Nursing

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of our study was to assess COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among health care workers (HCWs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and identify: 1) vaccine acceptance barriers; 2) demographic differences; and 3) the most trusted COVID-19 sources of information. Methods: Between October and December 2020, all registered HCWs in the KSA were emailed a survey questionnaire, using Qualtrics® and Google Forms®, evaluating their acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Results: Of the 23,582 participants surveyed, 15,299 (64.9%) said they would accept a COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine acceptance among HCWs differed by several demographic characteristics, with males (69.7%), Christians (71.9%), and Pakistanis (81.6%) most likely to accept a COVID-19 vaccine. Of the 8,202 (35.1%) who said they would not accept a COVID-19 vaccine, the main reason reported was fear of potential side effects (58.5%). Participants reported health officials (84.6%) as the most reliable source of COVID-19 information. Additionally, participants reported the highest confidence in the KSA Ministry of Health (88.5%). Conclusions: Overall, these findings provide KSA health care authorities with the information needed to develop public health messaging campaigns for HCWs to best address COVID-19 vaccine concerns—especially as the country prepares to vaccinate its general population.