Abstract:

Background: The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the novel coronavirus strain SARS-CoV2 is currently pandemic and recently coronavirus is associated with increased morbidity and mortality which has led to the loss of life. Non-medical personnel who work at hospitals are among the group of people at risk to contact contagious diseases such as COVID-19 due to close interaction with patients but instead some of them accept the vaccine and others reject the vaccine due various factors that influencing them. Therefore the aim of this determine the factors that influencing COVID-19 vaccine coverage among non-medical personnel in Mwanza City.

Method: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study to determine the factors influencing coverage of COVID-19 vaccine among non-medical personnel that was conducted in Mwanza City for a duration of one month. Associations between two or more qualitative or categorical variables assessed using chi-square test. A two-sided P value < 0.05 considered to be statistically significant.

Results and discussion: It is clear that the vaccine acceptance spectrum among non-medical personnel in healthcare facilities is quite diverse, ranging from full acceptance to resistance, Less than one-third (28%) of the participants reported full acceptance, indicating a relatively low uptake rate. The majority of the participants (60%) were in the delayed stage and while a small proportion (12%) were in the resistance stage.

Conclusion: To increase vaccine acceptance, effective communication campaigns that provide accurate information about the vaccine, address concerns about safety and efficacy, health facility management should support the government to advocate the uptake of routine vaccine periodically.