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Zoumpoulis G, Deligiorgi P, Lamprinos D, Georgakopoulos P, Oikonomou E, Siasos G, Rachiotis G, Damaskos C, Papagiannis D, Papavassiliou KA, Patoulis G, Patsourakos F, Benetou V, Riza E, Orfanos P, Lagiou P, Marinos G. Attitudes and Practices Related to COVID-19 Vaccination with the Second Booster Dose among Members of Athens Medical Association: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1480. [PMID: 37766156 PMCID: PMC10534426 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11091480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND There are limited data on the attitudes and acceptance of the second booster (fourth dose) of the COVID-19 vaccination among physicians. METHODS A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based, online study was conducted among members of the Athens Medical Association (A.M.A.) who were invited to participate anonymously over the period from January to March 2023. RESULTS From the 1224 members who participated in the survey, 53.9% did not receive the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The main reasons for no vaccination were the lack of obligation to receive the fourth dose, the history of three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and the lack of sufficient information about the effectiveness of the fourth dose. Over half of the three-dose-vaccinated participants were willing to receive the fourth dose in the near future. Interestingly, the vaccination coverage among participants who had been informed about the fourth dose through scientific sources was low. CONCLUSIONS The low vaccination coverage with the fourth dose reported in this study can lead to broad and serious consequences, such as increase in COVID-19 infections, reduction of available healthcare staff and increased caseloads of COVID-19 in hospitals. Furthermore, hesitant physicians will adversely influence the vaccination uptake among the general population due to their key role in informing and recommending the vaccine. The healthcare system administration should acknowledge and address physician's concerns through effective communication and better support.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Evangelos Oikonomou
- First Department of Cardiology, Hippokration General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- Third Department of Cardiology, Thoracic Diseases General Hospital Sotiria, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Gerasimos Siasos
- First Department of Cardiology, Hippokration General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- Third Department of Cardiology, Thoracic Diseases General Hospital Sotiria, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Georgios Rachiotis
- Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larissa, Greece
| | - Christos Damaskos
- Renal Transplantation Unit, Laiko General Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
- N.S. Christeas Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Papagiannis
- Public Health & Vaccines Laboratory, Department of Nursing, School of Health Science, University of Thessaly, 38221 Volos, Greece
| | - Kostas A Papavassiliou
- First Department of Respiratory Medicine, "Sotiria" Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | | | | | - Vasiliki Benetou
- Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Elena Riza
- Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Philippos Orfanos
- Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Pagona Lagiou
- Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Georgios Marinos
- Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
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Marinos G, Lamprinos D, Georgakopoulos P, Oikonomou E, Zoumpoulis G, Siasos G, Schizas D, Damaskos C, Garmpis N, Garmpi A, Patoulis G, Patsourakos F, Datseris I, Tsoukalos E, Anyfantis ID, Papagiannis D, Symvoulakis EK, Rachiotis G. Increased Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Members of the Athens Medical Association Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:797. [PMID: 35632553 PMCID: PMC9148125 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10050797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Healthcare workers are at high risk of influenza virus infection as well as of transmitting the infection to vulnerable patients who may be at high risk of severe illness. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the prevalence and related factors of influenza vaccination coverage (2020-2021flu season), among members of the Athens Medical Association in Greece. This survey employed secondary analysis data from a questionnaire-based dataset on COVID-19 vaccination coverage and associated factors from surveyed doctors, registered within the largest medical association in Greece. All members were invited to participate in the anonymous online questionnaire-based survey over the period of 25 February to 13 March 2021. Finally, 1993 physicians (60% males; 40% females) participated in the study. Influenza vaccination coverage was estimated at 76%. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that older age (OR = 1.02; 95% C.I. = 1.01-1.03), history of COVID-19 vaccination (OR = 2.71; 95% C.I. = 2.07-3.56) and perception that vaccines in general are safe (OR = 16.49; 95% C.I. = 4.51-60.25) were found to be independently associated factors with the likelihood of influenza vaccination coverage. Public health authorities should maximize efforts and undertake additional actions in order to increase the percentage of physicians/health care workers (HCWs) being immunized against influenza. The current COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to focus on tailored initiatives and interventions aiming to improve the influenza vaccination coverage of HCWs in a spirit of synergy and cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Marinos
- Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Lamprinos
- Emergency Department, Laiko General Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece; (D.L.); (P.G.); (G.Z.)
| | | | - Evangelos Oikonomou
- Third Department of Cardiology, Thoracic Diseases General Hospital Sotiria, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (E.O.); (G.S.)
- First Department of Cardiology, Hippokration General Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Georgios Zoumpoulis
- Emergency Department, Laiko General Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece; (D.L.); (P.G.); (G.Z.)
| | - Gerasimos Siasos
- Third Department of Cardiology, Thoracic Diseases General Hospital Sotiria, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (E.O.); (G.S.)
| | - Dimitrios Schizas
- First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece;
| | - Christos Damaskos
- N.S. Christeas Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece;
| | - Nikolaos Garmpis
- Second Department of Propaedeutic Surgery, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece;
| | - Anna Garmpi
- First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece;
| | - George Patoulis
- Athens’s Medical Association, 11527 Athens, Greece; (G.P.); (F.P.); (I.D.); (E.T.)
| | - Fotios Patsourakos
- Athens’s Medical Association, 11527 Athens, Greece; (G.P.); (F.P.); (I.D.); (E.T.)
| | - Ioannis Datseris
- Athens’s Medical Association, 11527 Athens, Greece; (G.P.); (F.P.); (I.D.); (E.T.)
| | - Efstathios Tsoukalos
- Athens’s Medical Association, 11527 Athens, Greece; (G.P.); (F.P.); (I.D.); (E.T.)
| | - Ioannis D. Anyfantis
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), Prevention and Research Unit, 48003 Bilbao, Spain;
| | - Dimitrios Papagiannis
- Public Health & Vaccines Laboratory, Faculty of Nursing, School of Health Science, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece;
| | - Emmanouil K. Symvoulakis
- Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, 71500 Heraklion, Greece;
| | - Georgios Rachiotis
- Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41222 Lariss, Greece;
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