Attitude, knowledge, and predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among health care providers in South Gondar public hospitals, North Central Ethiopia: multi-facility based study

INTRODUCTION: with this fast-increasing pandemic in terms of morbidity and mortality, all mankind is at risk of infection unless they get vaccinated and all African countries shall incorporate COVID-19 vaccination in their health care programs as long as the world work cooperatively. The pandemic, as the World Health Organization (WHO) stated, could be mitigated when 70% of the population which is nearly 5.6 billion should be immunized and to achieve this objective, the willingness of the community to be vaccinated before vaccination is essential. METHODS: institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from March 1(st), 2021, up to 30(th) May, 2021, in South Gondar Province, North Central Ethiopia. A structured interviewer-administered pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data. The collected data were entered into EPI data version 4.2 and then exported into SPSS window version 22. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was undertaken and information was presented by using simple frequency tables and pie charts. RESULTS: the majority of the respondents who accepted the COVID-19 vaccine accounted for nearly 260 (65%, 95% CI: 60-69). Positive attitude (AOR 2.5, 95% CI: 1.30-11.20), good knowledge (AOR 13, 95% CI: 6-27), bachelor of sciences (B.Sc) and above educational level (AOR 2.70, 95% CI: 1.30-6), TV or radio as source of information (AOR 0.10, 95% CI: 0.04-0.30), social media as source of information (AOR 0.04, 95% CI: 0.01-0.2), political leaders (AOR 0.08, 95% CI: 0.01- 0.90) were predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. CONCLUSION: healthcare professionals (HCPs) with the decision (yes, sure) for COVID-19 vaccine uptake during data collection were found to be low as compared to other studies. Positive attitude, good knowledge, B.Sc, and above educational level were predictors enhancing COVID-19 vaccination uptake and TV or radio as a source of information, social media as a source of information and political leaders were factors decreasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Hence, it might be important to prioritize knowledge and attitude creation programs for HCPs and an alternative way of source of information and agents for the COVID-19 vaccine other than social media and religious leaders.