Approaching coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy among healthcare personnel: The importance of cultural competency

Vaccine hesitancy was listed as one of the 10 greatest threats to global health by the World Health Organization in 2019. The subsequent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted health disparities in severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) acquisition, COVID-19 hospitalization, and COVID-19 deaths among different racial and ethnic groups that has been driven by structural racism and inequities in distribution of social determinants of health. Differences in COVID-19 vaccine uptake by race and ethnicity have also been noted among healthcare personnel (HCP). A meta-analysis of 35 studies (76,471 HCP) noted the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy varied worldwide with an average of 22.51%, with a broad range from 4.3% in a study of HCP in China to a high of 72% in HCP in the Congo. In the United States, a large study of<br />&gt;10,871 Philadelphia HCP during the weeks prior to COVID-19 vaccine availability, 50% of those surveyed expressed some degree of vaccine hesitancy, with the highest hesitancy among Black HCP (82%, 732 of 882). COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in the general public also varies by race (Black persons have lowest uptake), age (increased uptake in older persons), location (state and region), social vulnerability (lower uptake among the most vulnerable), and sex (lower uptake in men).