Low acceptance of vaccination against the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) among healthcare workers in Greece

G Rachiotis; V A Mouchtouri; J Kremastinou; K Gourgoulianis; C Hadjichristodoulou

doi:10.2807/ese.15.06.19486-en

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Low acceptance of vaccination against the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) among healthcare workers in Greece
G Rachiotis¹ , V A Mouchtouri¹ , J Kremastinou² , K Gourgoulianis³ , C Hadjichristodoulou¹
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Affiliations: ¹ Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, University of Thessaly, Thessaly, Greece ² Department of Public and Administrative Hygiene, National School Public Health, Athens, Greece ³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Thessaly, Thessaly, Greece

Correspondence:
C Hadjichristodoulou
xhatzi med.uth.gr
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Citation style for this article: Rachiotis G, Mouchtouri V A, Kremastinou J, Gourgoulianis K, Hadjichristodoulou C. Low acceptance of vaccination against the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) among healthcare workers in Greece. Euro Surveill. 2010;15(6):pii=19486. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.15.06.19486-en Received: 26 Jan 2010

Abstract

A questionnaire survey on the attitude of healthcare workers towards pandemic influenza vaccination showed low acceptance (17%) of the pandemic vaccine. Factors associated with vaccine uptake were acceptance of seasonal influenza vaccination, medical profession and age. The main reason for refusal of vaccination was fear of side effects, which was stronger in those who received information on the safety of the vaccine mainly from mass media.