Abstract
Objectives: To analyze the role of pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic, to measure pharmacists’ attitude toward COVID-19 safety measures (wearing masks, wearing gloves, isolation shield, good hygiene, etc.), and explore their perspectives regarding a second wave of the virus. Methods: This cross-sectional online survey study was conducted in Jordan during the COVID-19 outbreak in July 2020 to discuss Jordanian pharmacists’ awareness of safety at their workplace during the COVID-19 outbreak, their sources of information, and their predictions for COVID-19 vaccination. Results: The participants (n = 311) were all pharmacists mostly aged between 23–30 years old (45%) and female (83%). The primary source of information about COVID-19 was social networking (38.9%). Pharmacists were committed to social distancing (86.5%) and wearing masks (76.2%). They expressed levels of agreement to their role in decreasing COVID-19 spread (94.2%) and correcting false information (94.5%); they expressed levels of expectation toward concern about a second COVID-19 wave (83%) that would be more severe than the previous one (43.4%). Pharmacists expected that an influenza vaccine might be helpful in decreasing severity and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic (56.9%). Pharmacists expected COVID-19 vaccine development within 6 months of administering our study survey (84.9%) and that vaccination might be effective in preventing COVID-19 (93%) infection. Conclusion: Pharmacists expressed positive roles on COVID-19 spread through exemplary actions, self-commitment to protection measures, and public health awareness. Social media as a source of health information should be cautiously investigated, and pharmacists should always refer to evidence-based sources. The role of pharmacists is particularly important for the upcoming era of COVID-19 vaccination administration and awareness.
Highlights
Coronavirus (CoV) infections are caused by emerging respiratory viruses and are known to cause illness ranging from common cold-like symptoms to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) [1]
Chi-square test was used; df: degree of freedom; *: indicates statistical significance (p-value < 0.05). In this cross-sectional study, attempts have been made to discuss the perception of pharmacists in Jordan during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) using an online survey
Our study identified specific knowledge gaps related to COVID-19 among pharmacists, as it seems like the younger aged holding bachelor degrees had uncertainties about
Summary
Coronavirus (CoV) infections are caused by emerging respiratory viruses and are known to cause illness ranging from common cold-like symptoms to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) [1]. CoV are zoonotic pathogens that can be transmitted animalto-human and human-to-human [2]. Since the emergence of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 [3], it spread rapidly across. China and many other countries [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) created a new name for the 2019-nCoV epidemic: coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on 11 February. The Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses identified this emerging virus as SARS-CoV-2 [4].
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