RIGA, Jan 6 (LETA) - Appeals by respected colleagues could motivate more healthcare workers to get the Covid-19 vaccine, believes Daugavpils Regional Hospital's board member Grigorijs Semjonovs.

Many employees at Daugavpils Regional Hospital still have not volunteered for the vaccines and many still believe disinformation about the vaccines being spread on social media. In addition, some hospital employees say they prefer AstraZeneca vaccines to BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, and are ready to get the shot later.

"However, healthcare workers are a priority group, maybe there will be no such opportunity later on. We are trying to convince them that the vaccine may help protect us, there is not much else we can do," said Semjonovs.

So far, only about one-tenth of Daugavpils Regional Hospital's employees have agreed to get vaccinated against Covid-19. "They are reading information in the media and social networks, and there is no one to debunk this information," said Semjonovs, adding that government representatives and healthcare experts trusted by their colleagues should get involved in an information campaign in support of Covid-19 vaccines.