Vaccine hesitancy for the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose among nursing home staff fully vaccinated with the primary vaccination course in Belgium

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... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Marina Digregorio
Pauline Van Ngoc
Simon Delogne
Eline Meyers
Ellen Deschepper
Nadia Dardenne
Els Duysburgh
Liselore De Rop
Tine De Burghgraeve
Anja Coen
Nele De Clercq
An De Sutter
Jan Y. Verbakel
Piet Cools
Stefan Heytens
Laëtitia Buret
Beatrice Scholtes
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2024
Reihe/Periodikum: Vaccine: X, Vol 16, Iss , Pp 100453- (2024)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Elsevier
Schlagwörter: COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 / Vaccine hesitancy / Booster dose / Nursing home / Staff / Immunologic diseases. Allergy / RC581-607
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28971496
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvacx.2024.100453

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.