Purpose: Considering high risk of imported epidemic in port cities, it is necessary to estimate COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and to promote vaccination coverage of high-risk occupations.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among the occupations in Yantai city, China, using an online questionnaire service platform. Targeted strategies were developed based on the survey results. In addition, periodic monitoring of the vaccination rate was provided in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies.
Results: A total of 2231 (73.22%) of 3047 participants were willing to accept the vaccine, while 2.53% refused and 24.25% were not sure. Frontline port workers (133/152, 87.50%) and healthcare workers (999/1155, 86.49%) had higher intentions to accept, while public places and commercial service staff (584/1011, 57.76%) had the lowest. The reasons for refusal and hesitation were mainly “doubt of safety or effectiveness” (661/816, 81.00%) and “hearing previous news about vaccines” (455/816, 55.76%). Multilevel strategies such as adequate organizations, health education and promotion, and easy access to vaccination were promoted by local authorities in collaboration with schools, hospitals, enterprises and institutions. The study showed a significant increase in vaccination rate among these occupations after the implementation of these strategies (p < 0.001), reaching 87.96%.
Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccine acceptability among high-risk occupations was unsatisfactory before the stage of emergency vaccination. An advanced understanding of vaccine attitudes and acceptance can aid in the development of focused immunization promotion programs. It is worth emphasizing that wide strategies with the strong support and enthusiastic cooperation of the government and the industry executive can contribute to increasing occupations’ acceptance of the ongoing COVID-19 immunization project.
Keywords: COVID-19, vaccine, willingness, occupation, public health policy