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Physicians’ Perception About the Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccine and Their Role in Vaccination Program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2022

Khayal Muhammad ,
Syed Sikandar Shah ,
Gul Muhammad ,
Nadeem Ullah ,
Muhammad Hammad Butt Open the ORCID record for Muhammad Hammad Butt [Opens in a new window] ,
Hassan Higazi  and
Mohamed A. Baraka
Khayal Muhammad*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus, Turkey Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Abasyn University, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan
Syed Sikandar Shah
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, European University of Lefke, Lefke, Northern Cyprus, TR-10 Mersin, Turkey
Gul Muhammad
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, DHQ Teaching Hospital, D.I.Khan, KPK, Pakistan
Nadeem Ullah
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Microbiology / MIMS, Umeå University, 90187, Sweden
Muhammad Hammad Butt
Affiliation:
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, 54000, Pakistan
Hassan Higazi
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
Mohamed A. Baraka
Affiliation:
Clinical Pharmacy Program, College of Pharmacy, Al-Ain University, Al-Ain Campus, United Arab Emirates Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
*
Corresponding author: Khayal Muhammad, E-mail: khayal866@gmail.com
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Abstract

Introduction:

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused many problems in the health sector. Effective and safe vaccines are the only tool to combat the COVID-19 disease. Researchers and regulatory agencies have made efforts to develop such vaccines and healthcare professionals were prioritized for the vaccination program as first-line care providers. Considering this prioritization, we aimed to assess the physicians’ perceptions regarding the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Methods:

An interview-based study was conducted from May 5 May to November 5, 2021 (6 months) in a teaching hospital in the capital city of Islamabad, Pakistan.

Results:

Among the 200 physicians who agreed to participate in the interview, 74% were male. A total of 94% did not experience any side effects after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of the type of vaccine; 6% experienced side effects. Furthermore, 90% of physicians were afraid of side effects due to the high number of vaccine doses.

Conclusion:

Conclusively, physicians had a positive perception regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Healthcare authorities and related departments must take precautions to ensure the effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine to change the perceptions of physicians who had a negative perception. This will not only reduce the reluctance among physicians regarding administering COVID-19 vaccine, but will also boost and facilitate the vaccination program for the general public as well.

Keywords

COVID-19vaccineside effectsphysiciansperception
Type
Commentary
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 2290 - 2292
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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