Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in healthcare workers in Iran: National Survey

BACKGROUND AND AIM: It seems that acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination is the most effective way to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic now. Health care workers (HCWs) are one of the most important groups who are at risk for COVID-19 infection. This study aimed to assess the COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance among HCWs in Iran and its determinants. METHODS: A cross‐sectional survey was carried out among 3600 HCWs in Iran. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire by a trained team from February to March 2021. Multi-stage cluster sampling method was used for selecting respondents of the study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the key factors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among participants. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Out of the 3536 respondents, 2191 (62.1%) intended to uptake the COVID-19 vaccine. Only about 10 percent of respondents said they did not trust any vaccine (domestic or foreign). Willing to accept a COVID-19 vaccine was relatively high among males, doctors, and those who had a history of hospitalization due to COVID-19 infection. The multivariate regression analysis showed respondents who were 40–50 years (aOR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.47–1.66), had a history of COVID-19 infection (aOR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.83–0.88), and hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection (aOR: 2.18; 95% CI: 1.97–2.39), were significantly associated with vaccine acceptance (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study showed moderate acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in the HCWs in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The most important factor in the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine by the health staff is having a history of hospitalization. Further training and justification of health personnel is needed to increase the acceptance of COVID 19 vaccine. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-022-07675-x.