'Scary to Get, More Scary Not To': COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Among Health Worker's in Central Queensland, Australia

Background: Behavioural and social drivers (BeSD) of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Australian healthcare workers (HCW) living and working in regional areas are not well studied. Understanding local HCW’s COVID-19 risk perceptions and potential barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake is crucial to supporting rollout. We aimed to understand COVID-19 vaccine drivers among HCW in Central Queensland (CQ), Australia. Method: A cross sectional online survey of HCWs in CQ between 17 May and 31 May 2021, based on BeSD framework adapted from the World Health Organization Data for Action guidance consisting of the five instrument domains: what people think and feel; social processes; motivations; practical issues; and vaccination uptake. Results: Of 240 HCWs within CQHHS who responded, 78% were female. 64% percent of participating HCWs received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and of those who had not yet received a vaccine, 53% said they were willing to receive one. Factors associated with vaccine acceptance included: belief that the vaccine was important for their health (81%; OR: 7.2, CI: 3.5-15.5), belief that their family and friends want them to have the vaccine (64%; OR: 6.7, 2.9-16.7), trust in the vaccine (72%; OR: 6.4, CI: 3.5-12.0), confidence in being able to answer patient questions about the vaccine (99%). Conclusions: These findings suggest a combination of communications and educational material framed around the benefits and social norms of vaccination, along with materials addressing vaccine safety concerns will encourage HCW to take up a COVID-19 vaccine. Funding Information: This work was supported by a Queensland Advancing Clinical Research Fellowship awarded to Prof. Gulam Khandaker by Queensland Health's Health Innovation, Investment and Research Office (HIRO), Office of the Director-General. Declaration of Interests: Professor Gulam Khandaker has received funding from Sanofi Pasteur for conducting research other than this. All other authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: Electronic consent was obtained from all participants. Ethical approval was obtained from the CQHHS Human Research Ethics Committee (LNR2021QCQ69608).