Late Breaking Abstract - COVID-19 risk perception and vaccine willingness among healthcare workers in specialized respiratory clinics in Germany

Background: Healthcare workers of specialized respiratory clinics are major actors in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and a priority target group for COVID-19 vaccines. We aimed to determine vaccine acceptance among employees of respiratory clinics in Germany. Methods: Online questionnaire to investigate vaccine acceptance and hesitancy according to the individual perceived risk of COVID-19 infection. Employees of all occupational categories of respiratory clinics were surveyed from 15th to 28th of March 2021. Results: 962 employees of four lung clinics (Thoraxklinik Heidelberg, Asklepios Klinik Gauting, LungenClinic Grosshansdorf, Fachkliniken Wangen) and one lung rehabilitation clinic (Rehaklinik Bad Reichenhall) took part in the survey. Percentages per age group 18-25/26-35/36-45/46-55/≥56y were 7.8/21.9/25.0/25.4/19.9%. 565 (72%) were female, 525 (66%) worked in direct patient care. COVID-19 infection rate among hospital staff was 7.2%. Nurses and physicians reported a higher infection risk compared to other professions (OR 2.74; 95% CI 1.35-5.55; p=0.004). 71.6% of participants were concerned about infection with COVID-19, 17.6% estimated the occupational infection risk as “high”, 39.9% worried to transmit the virus to relatives, 21.1% worried transmission to patients. 25% had concerns towards long-term risks of vaccination. 72.8% reported willingness to undergo vaccination. Acceptance rates were highest among employees of risk areas (82%) and lowest among administrative staff (64%). Conclusions: Irrespective of the assumption of potential vaccination´s risks, willingness to undergo vaccination was high in employees of respiratory clinics in Germany.