Perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to receive vaccination among health workers in Nigeria.

Objective: The study aimed to examine health workers' perceptions of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in Nigeria and their willingness to receive the vaccine when it becomes available.

Methods: This multi-center cross-sectional study used non-probability convenience sampling to enroll 1,470 hospital workers aged 18 and above from 4 specialized hospitals. A structured and validated self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data entry and analysis were conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 22.0.

Results: The mean age of respondents was 40±6 years. Only 53.5% of the health workers had positive perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine, and only slightly more than half (55.5%) were willing to receive vaccination. Predictors of willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine included having a positive perception of the vaccine (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 4.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.50-5.69), perceiving a risk of contracting COVID-19 (AOR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.25-3.98), having received tertiary education (AOR, 3.50; 95% CI, 1.40-6.86), and being a clinical health worker (AOR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01-1.68).

Conclusion: Perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to receive the vaccine were sub-optimal among this group. Educational interventions to improve health workers' perceptions and attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine are needed.