Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic brought vaccination among healthcare workers (HCWs) back into focus. However, whether this experience was reflected in seasonal influenza vaccination remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate HCWs’ COVID-19 vaccination status, motivations and concerns regarding vaccination, and self-reported influenza vaccination before, during, and after the pandemic.

Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was administered to 3,574 HCWs at Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Medicine Hospital between 17 December 2023 and 14 February 2024, and 233 HCWs responded (6.5%). Information on the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods was collected retrospectively. As the vaccination season was ongoing in the post-pandemic period, the question for this period covered both vaccination status and intention to be vaccinated. Because the period questions were asked without specifying date ranges and the post-pandemic question also included vaccination intention, the periods did not measure the same outcome; therefore, the findings were presented descriptively.

Results: Of the participants, 77.7% were women, 43.8% were aged 41–50 years, and 73.0% reported having previously had COVID-19. The proportion who had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine was 96.6% (225/233). The reasons most frequently rated as “very important” were protecting family (187/207), protecting oneself (180/210), and contributing to ending the pandemic (139/190). Thirty-eight participants responded to at least one concern item; 31 were vaccinated, and 7 were unvaccinated. The concerns most frequently rated as “very important” were the vaccine being new (16/33; 48.5%), fear of adverse effects (15/31; 48.4%), and distrust of pharmaceutical companies (15/33; 45.5%). The proportion reporting influenza vaccination was 21.9% (51/233) before the pandemic and 9.5% (22/232) during the pandemic, while after the pandemic, 13.0% (30/231) reported having received or intending to receive the influenza vaccine.

Conclusion: Although COVID-19 vaccination rates were high, self-reported seasonal influenza vaccination remained low in all three periods. The proportion reporting vaccination or intention to be vaccinated in the post-pandemic period did not reach the pre-pandemic level. As post-pandemic responses included intention, the actual vaccination rate may be lower. Sustainable institutional practices are needed to increase influenza vaccination among HCWs.