COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in care home staff: A survey of Liverpool care homes

Tulloch, John S.P.; Lawrenson, Karen; Gordon, Adam L.; Ghebrehewet, Sam; Ashton, Matthew; Peddie, Steve; Parvulescu, Paula

Abstract

Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine first doses in UK care homes has been higher among residents compared to staff. We aimed to identify causes of lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake amongst care home staff within Liverpool. An anonymised online survey was distributed to all care home managers, between the 21st and the 29th January 2021. 53 % of 87 care homes responded. The overall COVID-19 vaccination rate was 52.6 % (n = 1119). Reasons, identified by care home managers for staff being unvaccinated included: concerns about lack of vaccine research (37.0 %), staff being off-site during vaccination sessions (36.5 %), pregnancy and fertility concerns (5.6 %), and allergic reactions concerns (3.2 %). Care home managers wanted to tackle vaccine hesitancy through conversations with health professionals, and provision of evidence dispelling vaccine misinformation. Vaccine hesitancy and logistical issues were the main causes for reduced vaccine uptake among care home staff. The former could be addressed by targeted training, and public health communication campaigns to build confidence and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines.

Citation

Tulloch, J. S., Lawrenson, K., Gordon, A. L., Ghebrehewet, S., Ashton, M., Peddie, S., & Parvulescu, P. (2023). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in care home staff: A survey of Liverpool care homes. Vaccine, 41(7), 1290-1294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.01.009

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 4, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 9, 2023
• Publication Date: Feb 10, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 11, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 10, 2024
• Journal: Vaccine
• Print ISSN: 0264-410X
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-2518
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1290-1294
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.01.009
• Keywords: Infectious Diseases; Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; General Veterinary; General Immunology and Microbiology; Molecular Medicine
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/15932743
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X23000099?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in care home staff: A survey of Liverpool care homes; Journal Title: Vaccine; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.01.009; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.