A cross sectional study on knowledge, attitude and practice regarding Covid vaccination among health beneficiaries

Abstract

In 2020, the whole world was taken aback by the emergence of a new viral disease – novel Corona Virus Disease (nCoViD-19), and soon the WHO declared it a pandemic. In India, two vaccines were developed and almost immediately approved for use, namely the Covishield and the Covaxin. These new vaccines and their fastened approval stirred a mixture of reactions both among the health care providers and the general public. : This pioneer study was conducted to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice regarding CoViD vaccination among various beneficiaries.A cross-sectional questionnaire based study was conducted among various beneficiaries from January 25 to April 12 2021. Employing the stratified random sampling technique, 1000 study subjects were selected. After obtaining written informed consent, one to one interview was conducted. Knowledge, attitude and practice of CoViD vaccination was assessed using a grading system. 99.95% of Doctors and 49.0% of paramedical health care workers in contrast to 72.8% of general citizens had a good practise regarding vaccination and the pandemic in general. 64% of male study subjects had enrolled for vaccination on their self interest, in contrast with 75% of the 365 female study subjects. There was no statistically significant association between Gender and scores >60% in Knowledge, Attitude and Practice regarding CoViD vaccination among the subjects. There was a statistically very high significance between Knowledge regarding vaccination and the independent decision to get vaccinated. Majority of the study population was willing to be vaccinated and the main reason attributed to this willingness was the belief that the vaccine is safe.