Belgium; Booster dose; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccination; COVID-19 vaccine booster dose; Nursing home; SARS-CoV-2; Staff; Vaccine hesitancy; Infectious Diseases; Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; General Veterinary; General Immunology and Microbiology; Molecular Medicine
Abstract :
[en] In Belgium, nursing home (NH) staff (NHS) and residents were prioritised for the initial COVID-19 vaccination and successive booster doses. The vaccination campaign for the first booster started in September 2021 in Belgian NH. Our first study about vaccine hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine in Belgian NHS already showed a degree of fear for the primary vaccination course (T1). This new study aims to evaluate vaccine hesitancy to get the first booster (T2) in a population of fully vaccinated (with two doses) NHS. A random stratified sample of NHS who received the primary vaccination course (N = 954) completed an online questionnaire on COVID-19 booster hesitancy (between 25/11/2021 and 22/01/2022). NHS who hesitated or refused the booster were asked for the main reason for their hesitation/refusal. Overall, 21.0 % of our population hesitated before, were still hesitating or refused the booster, NHS that were not hesitant at T1 being 5.7 times less likely to hesitate to get the first booster dose (Adjusted OR 0.179, 95 % CI: 0.120, 0.267). Although there was a slight reduction (23.5 % to 20.1 %) in the proportion of NHS who hesitated/refused vaccination at T1 compared to T2 (p = 0.034), the fear of unknown effects was the principal reason for hesitation/refusal, already mentioned in our first study. NHS were not reassured concerning their initial fears. Given the likelihood that booster vaccinations will be necessary over the coming years, a communication strategy specific to NHS should be implemented.
Van Ngoc, Pauline ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques > Médecine générale
Delogne, Simon; Research Unit of Primary Care and Health, Department of General Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
Meyers, Eline ; Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Deschepper, Ellen; Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Dardenne, Nadia ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la santé publique
Duysburgh, Els; Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
De Rop, Liselore; EPI-Centre, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
De Burghgraeve, Tine; EPI-Centre, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Coen, Anja; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
De Clercq, Nele; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
De Sutter, An; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Verbakel, Jan Y ; EPI-Centre, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium ; NIHR Community Healthcare Medtech and IVD cooperative, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Cools, Piet ; Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Heytens, Stefan ; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Buret, Laetitia ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques > Médecine générale
Scholtes, Béatrice ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques > Médecine générale
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