Margot Bellon, John Shepard, Janet Wei, Jorge L Salinas, Clea Sarnquist, Saud Khan, Eric Hadhazy, Yvonne Maldonado, Jennifer B Bollyky
Despite widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, 23% of Health Care Personnel (HCP) was unvaccinated as of December, 2021. This study identified characteristics of hospital-based healthcare personnel associated with delaying or declining COVID-19 vaccination. We analyzed surveys from >15,000 hospital-based HCP from a large, university-based healthcare system in December 2020 to understand employee plans for COVID-19 vaccination. We also assessed changing one’s mind about getting vaccinated between December 2020 and March 2021. We found that being female, black, and between ages 18 and 49 was associated with delaying or denying the vaccine. HCPs from counties of high social vulnerability and those with less patient contact also had higher rates of vaccine hesitancy. The HCP sub-groups that express high rates of vaccine hesitancy should be considered in the design of vaccination campaigns for hospital workers.