scholarly journals Compulsory vaccination policies: a systematic review about knowledge, attitudes and believes

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Voglino ◽  
M R Gualano ◽  
F Bert ◽  
E Olivero ◽  
M Corezzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Hpv Vaccination ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Compulsory Vaccination ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Coverage Rates ◽  
Mandatory Vaccination ◽  
Low Coverage

Abstract Background Vaccine hesitancy is a considerable issue in European Countries and leads to low coverage rates. Consequently, the implementation of national immunization programmes including the introduction of compulsory vaccination are required. It is interesting to determine citizens’ knowledge, attitudes and believes about vaccination policies, in order to more effectively define vaccination programs. Methods The present study systematically reviewed published studies evaluating attitudes towards mandatory vaccination programs. PubMed and Scopus scientific databases were searched and 4,198 results were returned, of these 29 met the inclusion criteria. PRISMA statements were followed. Results Twenty-two studies assessed attitudes towards mandatory vaccination programs in general, while 9 papers focused specifically on the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine. Most of the studies were performed in Europe and North America. According to the assessed studies, the majority of the population seems to be in favour of compulsory vaccinations, from 53% to 97% for different vaccination programs. More resistance has been recorded for the HPV vaccination: the percentage of agreement for mandatory HPV vaccinations ranged from 27% to 63.5%. Furthermore, some studies investigated healthcare workers’ attitudes towards childhood and adult vaccinations. They pointed out that the general population is generally more in favour of mandatory vaccination policies than healthcare workers. The studies highlighted that the support to mandatory policies increased after their implementations. Conclusions The results presented in this review could be an important starting point to further understand the issue of vaccine hesitancy and support the implementation of effective vaccination strategies in Europe. Key messages Mandatory vaccination policies are generally well accepted among general population. More resistance is recorded for specific vaccination (HPV) or among specific population (healthcare workers).

scholarly journals Understanding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan: The paradigm of Confidence, Convenience and Complacency; A Cross-sectional study.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveen Siddique Sheikh ◽  
Mumtaz Touseef ◽  
Riddah Sultan ◽  
Kanwal Hassan Cheema ◽  
Sidra Shafiq Cheema ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vaccination Programs

Background and objectives: Vaccine hesitancy is a big obstacle for vaccination programs, as is anticipated for the COVID-19 vaccination program, resulting in low uptake of vaccines thereby hindering the process of reaching herd immunity. Bearing this in mind the current study was aimed to explore the determinants of vaccine hesitancy amongst the Pakistani population. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out from the 23rd-31st January 2021. The conceptual framework of the study was based on the 3Cs (Confidence, Convenience, Complacency) model. Google-forms-based questionnaire was disseminated amongst the general population. Data collected were entered into SPSS version 26 and analyzed. Results: Of the 421 participants, 68.4% were females. Non-healthcare workers were 55.8% of respondents. Vaccine hesitant individuals, 26.13% reported they were very unlikely to get vaccinated. Vaccine was not safe as it came out too fast was agreed upon by 12.6% individuals, 50.6% were worried about experiencing side-effects, 18% believed vaccine will not offer protection and 5.9% believed vaccine would cause death. Low Practice of SOP in non-Healthcare workers was the strongest contributor to vaccine hesitancy (OR: 5.338, p=0.040, 95% CI: 1.082-26.330) followed by High complacency (p=0.026) and Moderate Complacency (OR: 0.212, p=0.007, 95% CI: 0.069-0.654) towards COVID-19 vaccination. In Healthcare workers the strongest contributor to vaccine hesitancy was having a Moderate Confidence (OR: 0.323, p=0.042, 95% CI: 0.109-0.958) in the vaccine followed by Moderate Convenience (OR: 0.304, p=0.049, 95% CI: 0.093-0.993) for vaccination Conclusion: Campaigning and communication strategies to reaffirm confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine and educating the general population about the vaccine could lead to increased perception of vaccine safety and effectiveness thereby restoring confidence in vaccine and decreasing vaccine hesitancy. Likewise, working to increase vaccine convenience and decreasing complacency towards the COVID-19 vaccine would translate into high vaccine uptake.

scholarly journals Healthcare Workers’ attitudes towards mandatory influenza vaccination: a systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Corezzi ◽  
M R Gualano ◽  
G Voglino ◽  
E Olivero ◽  
P Rossello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Vaccination ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Coverage Rates ◽  
Mandatory Vaccination

Abstract Background Influenza affects approximately between 5 to 10% of general population every year, leading to 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness, and about 290 000 to 650 000 respiratory deaths. Healthcare Workers (HCWs) play a crucial role in spreading the infection to patients. Although the strong recommendations provided, influenza vaccination coverage rates among HCWs are globally well below the coverage target set by WHO. The aim of this study is to assess attitudes towards mandatory influenza vaccination programs among HCWs, in order to make a quantitative synthesis of the phenomenon. Methods The present study systematically reviewed published cross-sectional studies investigating attitudes towards compulsory influenza vaccination in Healthcare Workers. PubMed and Scopus scientific databases were searched and 4,198 results were returned. Of these, 23 met the inclusion criteria for the review and 13 were eligible for the meta-analyses. PRISMA statements were followed. Results Thirteen studies were conducted in North America, 4 were conducted in Europe, 3 in Asia, 2 were performed in Australia and one study collected data both from Europe and Asia. According to the assessed studies, the percentage of agreement ranged from 44% to 95% for different compulsory vaccination programs. A combined prevalence of 59.8% (95%CI 50.1-68.8) was found in the meta-analysis. Having been vaccinated against influenza in the previous year increases the likelihood (OR 4.1; 95%CI 2.8-6.1) of being in favour of mandatory vaccination policies. Conclusions Compulsory influenza vaccination programs are generally accepted by the majority of health professionals, especially by those who have already been vaccinated previously. These results could be important to improve European vaccination strategies, in order to increase influenza vaccination rates among Healthcare Workers. Key messages Mandatory influenza vaccination programs are accepted by the majority of Healthcare Workers. Having been previously vaccinated against influenza increases the likelihood of being in favor of a mandatory vaccination policy.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccination Perception and Attitude among Healthcare Workers in Egypt

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110133
Author(s):  
Samar Fares ◽  
Merihan M. Elmnyer ◽  
Shimaa Sabry Mohamed ◽  
Radwa Elsayed
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
P Value ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Introduction COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world, especially the frontline worriers. To get shielded through this war, the world is racing to reach and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccination hesitancy is one of the significant obstacles to global health. Objectives This study aimed to assess the perception and attitude of healthcare workers in Egypt toward COVID-19 vaccines, acknowledge the determinants of their attitude, and the factors that could increase the acceptance of the vaccine. Methods an observational web-based anonymous survey was conducted on 385 Egyptian healthcare workers in different governorates. The questionnaire-based on Vaccine Hesitancy Survey Questions of the World Health Organization was available in Arabic and English languages and was tested for reliability. Results Regarding vaccination decision, 51% of the participants were undecided, 28% refused, and 21% accepted vaccination. Reasons for vaccine acceptance mainly were risks of COVID-19 (93%), safety (57.5%), and effectiveness (56.25%) of the vaccine. Simultaneously, the reasons for vaccine hesitancy were the absence of enough clinical trials (92.4%) and fear of side effects of the vaccine (91.4%). The leading factor that could increase vaccination acceptance among the participants was to get sufficient and accurate information about the available vaccines. The participants revealed a high mean level of concern for COVID-19 vaccines’ safety (3.8 of 5) that differs significantly among the different study groups ( P-value .002). Conclusion Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, only approximately 21% of Egyptian healthcare workers in our study accepted the COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine hesitancy represents a major barrier to implementing vaccination programs.

scholarly journals Real-World Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccines among Healthcare Workers in Perinatal Medicine in China

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 704
Author(s):  
Biyun Xu ◽  
Xuelian Gao ◽  
Xinyue Zhang ◽  
Yali Hu ◽  
Huixia Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Real World ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Present Survey ◽  
Perinatal Medicine ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Questionnaire Online ◽  
Convincing Data

Surveys showed that vaccine hesitancy may influence the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines in healthcare workers (HCWs) and the general population. Currently, the actual acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in HCWs has rarely been reported. In the present survey, we investigated the real-world acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in HCWs in perinatal medicine during the first three-month period of vaccination in China and to identify the main reason for the decline of vaccination. HCWs (1087) who participated in a Chinese national symposium on perinatal medicine during 16–18 April 2021 were invited to answer a 27-question questionnaire online. A total of 1051 HCWs completed the questionnaire. Of them, 86.2% (906/1051) accepted the COVID-19 vaccination and 13.8% (145/1051) declined the vaccination. Because of the vaccine hesitancy, one-fourth of the vaccinated participants did not accept the vaccination until consulted with others or requested by employers. The main reason for the decline of vaccination in 145 unvaccinated HCWs was the concern about vaccine safety. The results indicate that vaccination request by employers may promote vaccine acceptance. More convincing data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines appears to be important to increase the acceptance of vaccination.

scholarly journals Is obligation the proper policy to increase immunization coverage? A comparison of 16 OECD countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Thomas ◽  
L Charrier ◽  
M Bo ◽  
C M Zotti
Keyword(s):  
Action Plan ◽  
Immunization Coverage ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Compulsory Vaccination ◽  
Measles Vaccination ◽  
Global Estimates ◽  
Coverage Rates ◽  
Mandatory Vaccination ◽  
Short Time

Abstract Issue Globally, between 2016 and 2018, low vaccination coverage rates led to an increase of measles cases and related deaths. The WHO European Region reported a total of 83540 measles cases and 74 deaths in 2018, versus the 5273 cases and 13 deaths in 2016, with WHO global estimates reporting 333445 cases. In order to contrast these outbreaks, the European Vaccine Action Plan 2015-2020 states that the ideal immunization coverage for measles must be 95%. Although, this rate is not reached and maintained everywhere, thus one debated solution is to adopt compulsory vaccination plans rather than recommended. Our aim is to analyse if compulsory policies may increase coverage. Description Between 2014 and 2018 3 countries (Italy, France and California) changed their measles vaccination policies from recommended to compulsory to fight low immunization. In order to describe the effects of this action, we compared their measles coverage rates in 2014 and 2018 together with other 12 OECD countries rates who adopt both recommendation and obligation, evaluating the trend variations. Data were collected from OECD's, WHO's and Ministries of Health's documents. Results After the introduction of obligation, California (91% in 2014; 95% in 2018) and Italy (87% to 94%) coverage rates increased, while France's reduced (91% to 90%). Of other mandatory countries, only Australia showed an increase (94% to 95%); totally, 37.5% mandatory countries showed an increase among the analysed ones. Through the same period, 50% of analysed countries with recommendation maintained rates over 95%, 10% increased, while 40% remained below 95%. Lessons Even if mandatory vaccinations can lead to a sharp increase of coverage in a short time in response to emergency situations, the causes and solutions of hesitancy are more complex than law enforcement. Some countries without obligation show rates constantly above 95% throughout the years, demonstrating that other measures can be taken to fight low immunization. Key messages Apart from estimates coming from WHO and OECD, it is difficult to find extensive and official information about the application and the effectiveness of vaccination policies in different countries. Low immunization coverage rates rely on different causes (information, religion, personal beliefs, trust), thus the application of mandatory vaccination alone is not sufficient to fight hesitancy.

Should influenza vaccination be mandatory for healthcare workers?

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 214-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolija Lukich ◽  
Michael Kekewich ◽  
Virginia Roth
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Vaccination ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
Medical Field ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
The Past ◽  
Immunization Rates ◽  
Mandatory Vaccination ◽  
Personal Interests

Each year, many healthcare organizations deal with low influenza immunization rates among staff. Mandatory influenza vaccination programs may be considered in order to address this issue. These types of programs have caused controversy in the past, as staff has argued that they infringe upon their liberties and right to autonomy. However, if viewed from a public health perspective, mandatory vaccination programs are beneficial for both employees and patients and can be justified. When individuals make the decision to work in the medical field, it is assumed that their values align with those of the organization for which they work. This overrides their right to autonomy, since they are expected to put the safety of their patients ahead of their own personal interests. Although some may argue that receiving a flu shot is unsafe, evidence has demonstrated the opposite, and the minimal discomfort that may result from a vaccine is not enough to negate the responsibilities that healthcare workers have toward the patients they serve.

scholarly journals Towards understanding vaccine hesitancy and vaccination refusal in Austria

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Bauer ◽  
Daniel Tiefengraber ◽  
Ursula Wiedermann
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Coverage Rates ◽  
Mandatory Vaccination

SummaryIn Austria, data on vaccine hesitancy is scarce. Available studies suggest around 1-11% of parents refuse vaccination, while many more are hesitant and consider refraining from some but not all of the recommended vaccinations. However, the key drivers for vaccine hesitancy in Austria are largely unknown. To learn more about vaccination coverage, attitude towards and knowledge around immunization as well as views on mandatory vaccination, we conducted a survey in a rural Austrian lay population including adults and children. Two paper-based questionnaires, one for adults 16 years or older and one for children aged 6-15 years, were developed, then sent to all houses of a rural community in Austria as well as handed out at the local primary and middle school, respectively. Self-reported coverage rates of children and adults were found to be low. Within the surveyed population 3% of children had never been or do not get vaccinated. More than half (57%) of the survey participants had a positive attitude towards vaccines, 21% were without reserves, 16% were found skeptical and 5% had a generally negative attitude. Knowledge about immunization in general was poor. Younger adults and people with secondary education appear to be most skeptical and negative towards vaccination. Children’s attitudes were closely linked to those of their parents. The major concern around vaccination in adults was fear of side effects. In adults, 54.2% support mandatory vaccination for Health Care Workers and 20.7% are against it. 39% of adults and 37% of children wanted more information on vaccination, preferably provided by physicians. Knowledge about disease prevention by vaccination should be improved and children could also benefit from an early age-appropriate vaccine education to strengthen health literacy. Physicians are the most trusted source of health information. Medical doctors should be aware of their very important role in transmitting trusted health information. This should include an up-to-date education in communicable disease prevention and immunization during their whole medical career. Furthermore, the curricula of health-care workers may need to be improved and harmonized concerning prevention and vaccination.

scholarly journals Mandatory HPV Vaccination; Opportunity to Save Lives, Improve Readiness and Cut Costs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Collin A Sitler ◽  
Larissa F Weir ◽  
Erin A Keyser ◽  
Yovanni Casablanca ◽  
Erica Hope
Keyword(s):  
Human Papillomavirus ◽  
Hpv Vaccination ◽  
Active Duty ◽  
Service Members ◽  
Transmitted Infection ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Mandatory Vaccination ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACT Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the U.S. military and accounts for more healthcare visits than the next two most common STIs combined. Human papillomavirus is preventable with a safe, effective, prophylactic vaccine that has been available since 2006, yet vaccination rates remain low. The vaccine is approved for females and males aged 9-45 years for prevention of HPV-related dysplasia and cancers. Although it is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), it is not part of the U.S. military’s mandatory vaccine list. Human papillomavirus does not just affect female service members—male service members have a higher reported seropositive rate than their civilian counterparts and can develop oropharyngeal, anal, or penile cancers as sequelae of HPV. Oropharyngeal cancer, more common in males, is the fastest growing and most prevalent HPV-related cancer in the USA. Several countries, such as Australia and Sweden, have successfully implemented mandatory vaccine programs and have seen rates of HPV-related diseases, including cancer, decline significantly. Some models project that cervical cancer, which is the fifth-most common cancer in active duty women, will be eliminated in the next 20 years as a result of mandatory vaccination programs. Between higher seropositive rates and lack of widespread vaccination, HPV dysplasia and cancer result in lost work time, decreased force readiness, negative monetary implications, and even separation from service. With more than half of the 1.3 million service members in the catch-up vaccination age range of less than 26 years of age, we are poised to have a profound impact through mandatory active duty service member vaccination. Although multiple strategies for improving vaccination rates have been proposed, mandatory vaccination would be in line with current joint service policy that requires all ACIP-recommended vaccines. It is time to update the joint service guidelines and add HPV vaccine to the list of mandatory vaccines.

scholarly journals Vaccine hesitancy: An overview on parents' opinions about vaccination and possible reasons of vaccine refusal

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Facciolà ◽  
Giuseppa Visalli ◽  
Annalisa Orlando ◽  
Maria Paola Bertuccio ◽  
Pasquale Spataro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Vaccine Preventable Diseases ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Vaccine Refusal ◽  
Italian City ◽  
Real Composition ◽  
Coverage Rates ◽  
Low Coverage ◽  
Design And Methods

Background. Vaccine hesitancy has increased worldwide with a subsequent decreasing of vaccination rates and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (i.e. measles, poliomyelitis and pertussis) in several developed countries, including Italy. Design and Methods. We conducted a survey to investigate the attitudes of a parents’ sample about vaccinations by the distribution of questionnaires in six lower secondary schools of the Italian city of Messina. Results. Regarding vaccinations carried out on children, the declared vaccination coverage rates ranged widely between good coverage percentages for some vaccinations (Measles-Mumps-Rubella, Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis), and very low coverage rates for others, especially for “new” vaccinations (HPV, meningococcal, pneumococcal). The vaccinations carried out correlated negatively with both parents’ age and their level of education. Moreover, a favourable parents’ opinion was strongly influenced by a favourable opinion of the physician, while an unfavourable parents’ opinion seemed conditioned by a direct or indirect knowledge of people harmed by vaccines. In addition, our data show that parents do not often know or partially know the real composition of the vaccines and the diseases prevented by vaccinations. Conclusions. Data analysis shows that parents are, theoretically, favourable towards vaccinations but have little knowledge of such practices, sometimes not being unaware of the types of vaccines administrated to their children. Health education and communication of correct information are certainly the cornerstones to improve the situation and to fight the widespread and non-grounded fears about vaccines.

Examining Public Sentiments and Attitudes Towards COVID-19 Vaccination: An Infoveillance Study using Twitter Posts (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranganathan Chandrasekaran ◽  
Rashi Desai ◽  
Harsh Shah ◽  
Vivek Kumar ◽  
Evangelos Moustakas
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Topic Modelling ◽  
Vaccination Policy ◽  
Post Vaccination ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Twitter Users

BACKGROUND A global rollout of vaccinations is currently underway to mitigate and protect people from the COVID-19 pandemic. Several individuals have been using social media platforms like Twitter as an outlet to express their feelings, concerns and opinions about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination programs. This study examines COVID-19 vaccine related tweets from Jan 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021 to uncover the topics, themes and variations in sentiments of public twitter-users. OBJECTIVE To examine key themes and topics from COVID-19 vaccine related English tweets posted by individuals, and to explore the trends and variations in public opinions and sentiments METHODS We gathered and assessed a corpus of 2.94 million COVID-19 vaccine related tweets made by 1.2 million individuals. We used CoreX topic modelling to explore the themes and topics underlying the tweets, and used VADER sentiment analysis to compute sentiment scores and examine weekly trends. We also performed qualitative content analysis of the top three topics pertaining to COVID-19 vaccination. RESULTS Topic modelling yielded 16 topics that were grouped into 6 broader themes underlying the COVID-19 vaccination tweets. The most tweeted topic about COVID-19 vaccination was related to vaccination policy - whether vaccines needed to be mandated or optional (13.94%), followed by vaccine hesitancy (12.63%), and post-vaccination symptoms and effects (10.44%). Average compound sentiment scores were negative throughout the 16 weeks for topics: post-vaccination symptoms and side effects, and hoax/conspiracy. However, consistent positive sentiment scores were observed for the topics: vaccination disclosure, vaccine efficacy, clinical trials and approvals, affordability, policy/regulation,distribution and shortage, travel, appointment and scheduling, vaccination sites, advocacy, opinion leaders and endorsement, and gratitude to healthcare workers. Reversal in sentiment scores in a few weeks were observed for vaccination eligibility and hesitancy. CONCLUSIONS : Identification of dominant themes, topics, sentiments and changing trends about COVID-19 vaccination can aid governments and healthcare agencies to frame appropriate vaccination programs, policies and rollouts.

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