Investigation of the Reasons for Influenza Vaccine Refusal in Healthcare Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Healthcare workers are at high risk for the transmission of upper respiratory tract infections such as influenza. It is therefore recommended that they be immunized. However, many healthcare professionals refuse to get the influenza vaccination because of doubts about its safety and effectiveness. The study was aimed to determine the reasons for influenza vaccination refusal of healthcare workers during the pandemic period. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional-descriptive multicenter study, a questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was applied to healthcare workers who refused and did not receive the vaccine during the influenza vaccine administration between November 30, 2020 and January 5, 2021, and the reasons for influenza vaccine refusal were examined. Results: 877 healthcare workers were included in the study. Of these, 192 (21.9%) were physicians, 83 (43.7%) were nurses, and 302 (34.4%) were assistant health personnel. Not being afraid of influenza (31.9%) is one of the main reasons why healthcare workers are not vaccinated, while the other reasons are; the disbelief that the vaccine is effective and will protect (29.4%), fear that it will harm one’s health in the long term (22.1%), risk of developing an allergic reaction (14.9%) and fear of getting more severe influenza when vaccinated are expressed as (10.0%). Conclusion: The most important reasons for healthcare workers to refuse the influenza vaccine were not being afraid of contracting the disease and not believing in the protection of the vaccine. Clearing up the health workers’ questions and informing them properly with training about this subject can be very effective in terms of both eliminating the hesitancy of healthcare professionals about being vaccinated and providing the vaccination of risky patient groups who are always recommended and directed for vaccination by healthcare workers.