Perception of the COVID-19 Epidemic and Acceptance of Vaccination Among Healthcare Workers Prior to Vaccine Licensure — Beijing Municipality, China, May–July 2020

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development has been progressing, but acceptance of the new vaccines by healthcare workers (HCWs) was not well known prior to approval of COVID-19 vaccines in China. This study found that before vaccine approval, Beijing HCWs expressed moderate willingness to get vaccinated. Factors positively influencing willingness included free vaccination and belief that the vaccine had been fully evaluated. A negatively influencing factor was presence of an underlying disease. Trust in vaccines, in general, was positively associated with willingness to get new vaccines. COVID-19 vaccines should be provided at no cost to HCWs. Effective measures should be taken to enhance the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among HCWs in China.