Assessment of Vaccination Coverage and vaccine Hesitancy in Epirus During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, influenza vaccination among citizens is of particular importance. The pandemic had an early negative impact on adherence to routine vaccinations. There is little evidence for seasonal influenza vaccination coverage in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was the attitudes and practices towards vaccines in the period of COVID 19 and the vaccination coverage in the influenza vaccination in a random sample of the citizens of the Epirus region.
Material and Methods: A descriptive survey was conducted using an online questionnaire among the citizens of the Epirus region in a convenience sample of 309 citizens. The research was carried out during the period November 2021 - February 2022. The statistical analysis of the data was done with the IBM SPSS program in version 26.
Results The results of the study showed that age, gender, marital status, place of residence, the number of children, religion and the existence of chronic diseases (p<0.05) affects the attitude and perceptions of the sample towards vaccination while only 25.9% performed their flu vaccination. There was a statistically significant difference in participant gender and influenza vaccine coverage(p=0.013). Conclusions: We recorded low vaccination coverage against seasonal influenza in the Epirus region. Males recorded higher vaccination rates than female participants in the study. The results of the research show that the attitude of society as a whole is influenced by demographic characteristics, media information, trust in the authorities and the fear of adverse reactions.