Abstract: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are one of the most vulnerable groups for contracting COVID19 and dying as a result of it. Over 10,000 HCWs in Africa have been infected with COVID-19,
according to the World Health Organization, making it a substantial occupational health threat
for HCWs. To that end, Somalia’s Ministry of Health has ordered that all healthcare personnel
obtain the COVID-19 vaccination to safeguard themselves and the community they serve. In this
investigation, we aimed to assess the COVID-19 vaccination coverage and its associated factors
among healthcare workers in Somalia. A cross-sectional study was employed to examine COVID19 vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel in Somalia. The data were obtained via an
online questionnaire supplied by Google forms between December 2021 and February 2022, where
a total of 1281 healthcare workers from the various federal states of Somalia were recruited. A
multinomial regression analysis was used to analyse the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine
uptake. Overall, 1281 HCWs participated (630 females, 651 males) with a mean age and standard
deviation of 27.7 years ± 7.1. The overall vaccine coverage was 37.4%. Sex, age, the state of residency,
education level, specialization, hospital COVID-19 policy, vaccine availability at the centre, COVID-19
treatment centre, and health facility level were the factors that influenced the COVID-19 vaccine
uptake among health professionals in Somalia. Male healthcare employees were 2.2 times (odds
ratio-OR = 2.2; confidence interval-CI: 1.70, 2.75, p < 0.001) more likely than female healthcare workers
to be fully vaccinated. The survey discovered that the COVID-19 vaccine coverage among health
professionals was quite low, with the major contributing factors being accessibility, security challenges
and literary prowess. Additional efforts to enhance vaccination uptake are needed to improve the
COVID-19 vaccination coverage.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; COVID-19; healthcare workers; vaccine uptake; Somalia