PAHO launches survey to measure health-care workers’ response to COVID-19 vaccines

The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has launched a survey within the Caribbean region to gather information on health-care workers’ response to the COVID-19 vaccines.
In a statement, the Organisation said it will assist country officials to better understand the concerns, attitudes, and intended practices of these workers.
The survey will target 14 countries namely Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
“The study will seek to ascertain attitudes to vaccines in general, intentions to take and recommend COVID-19 vaccines, factors influencing these intentions, and general attitudes towards the COVID-19 and flu vaccines.”
PAHO/WHO has recommended that health-care providers be the first group to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Health-care workers are also recognised as significant influencers of health-related attitudes and behaviours related to vaccination in their communities. This group is being prioritised for communications to support them in accepting COVID-19 vaccines, as well as to ensure they are equipped to share correct knowledge with their patients and the public.
Caribbean Subregional Programme Coordinator Jessie Schutt-Aine has said, “Targeting health-care workers with accurate communication and information regarding COVID-19 vaccines is critical to the success of the rollout of vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines have been the topic of significant mis and dis-information. Through this survey, PAHO is assessing the perceptions on the COVID-19 vaccines in the Caribbean, and future activities will be geared to the general public to promote high uptake of the vaccines, which is key to recovery from the effects of the pandemic.”
While noting that health-care providers have shown to be the most trusted source of information on vaccination, the intention is for the survey to guide the development of public policy, with the goal of increasing vaccine acceptance, improving confidence and enabling effective championing of the vaccine to the population.
In Guyana, all health-care workers in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) have taken their vaccines, while other administrative regions move closer to this goal.