COVID-19 Virus and Vaccination Attitudes Among Healthcare Workers in Michigan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Mass vaccination serves as a potential solution to combat the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with vaccine hesitancy being a recognized impediment. Defining the characteristics of healthcare worker (HCW) attitudes towards the vaccine can provide insight into vaccine hesitancy. The study's goal is to determine HCWs’ attitudes regarding the COVID-19 vaccination and reasons for vaccine hesitancy. This cross-sectional study, administered July-November 2021, surveyed the attitudes of 120 HCWs from Saginaw, Sanilac and Wayne counties in Michigan using tipping scale questions. t-test and analysis of variance were used to measure HCWs’ attitudes towards the COVID-19 virus and vaccines.  Being a female HCW (P=0.01) or a HCW 25-54 years of age (P=0.036) was associated with increased concern of contracting COVID-19. Regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, the data demonstrated: 1) HCWs who specialized in family medicine (P=0.028) were more likely to agree that there was adequate testing compared to those who did not specialize in family medicine; 2) White HCWs (P=0.024) were less concerned with the speed of development compared to non-White HCWs; 3) Of all age groups, HCWs aged 55-64 years (P=0.02) were the least concerned about side effects 4) Of all provider types, physicians (P=0.017) were the least concerned about long-term effects. Gender, age, ethnicity, provider type, and medical specialty showed statistically significant differences among attitudes towards the COVID-19 virus and vaccines. Focusing educational efforts on HCW demographics who are more likely to have negative attitudes can potentially decrease vaccine hesitancy.