Abstract

Introduction: Vaccination has been the most definitive primary preventive measure against COVID-19. The only possible solution for the current COVID-19 pandemic is developing the heard immunity. This statement is true, especially for developing countries like Pakistan, which has very limited healthcare resources. The success of vaccination campaign can be influenced by the perceptions of healthcare providers.
Objective: To assess the perception of doctors towards COVID-19 vaccination
Methodology: Present cross sectional study was conducted amongst 421 doctors of tertiary level healthcare facilities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The study participants were provided an online questionnaire containing questions regarding their perceptions towards COVID-19 vaccine.
Results: About 41% participants believed that there was no association between vaccine and chronic illnesses. Almost 35% of the participants felt that media allegation on vaccine’s association with chronic illnesses had created doubts in their minds. Majority (73.16%) participants believed that COVID-19 vaccine is safe to use, while 6.65% of them believed that the vaccine is not safe. Around two third (75.3%) participants were willing to take the vaccine, while 16.15% participants were hesitant to take vaccine. Almost 87% of the participants felt that it is vaccine is reliable enough to recommend to others.
Conclusion: The majority of the doctors have positive perception regarding vaccine of COVID-19 and they would recommend it to others.

Key words: Covid 19 , pandemic, Pakistan, vaccine, physician