Attitudes toward COVID-19 disease and vaccination in Hungary: A comparison of nurses and health workers against non-health workers

Background & Aim: Hungary started to administer several COVID-19 vaccines; however, attitudes toward COVID-19 and vaccination are still poorly understood. This study aimed to explore howthe attitudes toward COVID-19 disease are associatedwith the attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination in Hungary and compare the attitudes of health and non-health workers toward COVID-19 disease and vaccination in Hungary. Methods & Materials: Using a descriptive, cross-sectional design, we recruited a sample of 1820 persons through an electronic survey. In addition to the sociodemographic questions, the attitudes towards COVID-19 disease and vaccination were assessed through selfdeveloped, literature-based questionnaires. Principal component analysis, Spearman ' s correlation, linear regression, and the Mann-Whitney test were used in the data analysis. Results: The mean age for the study participants (n=1735) was 43.8 +/- 6.2 years, and females were the majority (84.6%). Overall, participants showed good attitudes toward COVID-19 disease (mean score= 3.48, SD= 0.43) as compared to their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination (Mean score= 2.67, SD= 0.44). A positive correlation was found between the attitudes toward COVID-19 disease and attitudes toward vaccination in Hungary (r= 0.247, p < 0.01). Nurses and other health workers showed more positive attitudes toward COVID19 vaccination than non-health workers. Conclusion: Hungarian decision-makers should intervene to improve the public ' s willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or future pandemics. Health workers ' knowledge and positive attitudes should be utilized in the media to encourage the general population to be vaccinated. The suggested questionnaires need to be validated for future pandemics' use.