Asian Journal of Medical Principles and Clinical Practice

Background: One of the pillars of prevention is COVID-19 vaccination. Nonetheless, there are lots of skepticism in taking the vaccine in the populace even among health workers especially as it relates to the safety profile of the vaccine. Generally, the populace look up to the medical doctor for advice, therefore hesitancy amongst doctors to the vaccine use may translate to hesitancy among the population.

Aim: To assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, identify factors militating against vaccine uptake and the reasons for taking the vaccine among medical practitioners at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, Bayelsa state, Nigeria.

Study Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: This was a study carried out among medical doctors at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, Bayelsa state, Nigeria, between June and July, 2021.

Methodology: Questionnaires were used to obtain data from 102 participants recruited by consecutive sampling. The questionnaires contained the socio-demographic, medical history of the respondents, factors militating against COVID-19 vaccine uptake and the reasons for taking the vaccine.

Results: A total of 102 medical doctors participated in the survey. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was as high as 70.6% among the participants. The commonest reason for not accepting the vaccine was that the vaccine had not undergone sufficient clinical trial (40.3%). The most common reason for accepting the vaccine among vaccinated participants was to have a travel pass to other countries (73.3 %).

Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is very high among medical practitioners from this study. The novelty of the disease and the speed of vaccine development leaves a doubt about whether the vaccine has undergone sufficient clinical trial and on the safety of the vaccine. Doctors who intend to emigrate for better career opportunities dominate vaccine acceptors from this study.