Thanks to European Union (EU) funds, health-care professionals in Ukraine have received training from WHO on how to pass on their knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines to their peers. The online training conducted in September imparted knowledge and skills for effective communication about COVID-19 vaccines, offered different strategies to address the questions and concerns of peers, and helped build participants’ confidence to share what they have learned.
Health-care workers are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19. Understanding and addressing their concerns and any other potential barriers to vaccination is not only essential to promoting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance; it can also provide important lessons for immunization programmes targeting other vaccine-preventable diseases.
The health-care professionals who joined the online training sessions from 10 different regions across the country have now become vaccine champions. New training sessions are being organized for the coming months. These will be held by 22 of the newly educated trainers in the regions of Ukraine where the COVID-19 vaccination uptake rate among health-care workers remains low.
A trusted source of information
Health-care workers are seen as credible sources of information and are widely trusted by the community. They can have a powerful influence on the decisions patients make about vaccination, and are more likely to recommend vaccination to others if they are vaccinated themselves.
This training has been held in Armenia and Belarus as well as Ukraine. The training material is available online for other countries to access should they wish to offer a similar course to their health professionals.
Eastern Partnership project
The online trainings are being conducted as part of the EU and WHO/Europe partnership to support the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination in the 6 EU Eastern Partnership countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The project, funded by the EU and implemented by WHO/Europe, covers all phases of COVID-19 vaccine deployment and vaccination, constituting end-to-end support. It serves as a major investment to strengthen routine immunization systems in the 6 countries.