Objective   To examine the acceptance of “2 + 2” (2 doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine IPV followed by 2 doses of bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine bOPV) vaccination schedule and its influencing factors among immunization clinic staff in Hangzhou city and to provide references for implementing the vaccination schedule in other regions in China.

  Methods   During May – August 2019, we conducted a face-to-face survey among 398 medical staff in all immunization clinics (two staff randomly recruited in one of the 199 clinics) in Hangzhou city. A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect participants′ information on demographics, knowledge about poliomyelitis vaccine (14 questions), the acceptance of the “2 + 2” immunization schedule, impeding factors for implementation of the schedule and their countermeasures. Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, chi-square test and the logistic regression model were used in data analysis.

  Results   The age of the participants ranged 30 – 39 years, with a median age of 34 years. The majority (81.7%) of the participants were female. The participants from the clinics in main urban regions had a better knowledge about poliomyelitis vaccine. The participants aged 40 years and above were less likely to accept the “2 + 2” immunization schedule (odds ratio = 2.286, 95% confidence interval: 1.182 – 4.419). Of the 119 participants considering an increased difficulty for the vaccination under the “2 + 2” immunization schedule, 41.18% contributed the difficulty to the disapproval from vaccinees′ parents and the difficulty for persuading the parents to accept the “2 + 2” schedule. Among all the participants, 36.68% (146/398) reported impeding factors for the implementation of the “2 + 2” immunization schedule; of them, 20.55% (30/146) affirmed similarity in outer packing of bOPV and IPV being a main impeding factor. There were 10.80% (43/398) of the participants suggesting some modifications in poliomyelitis vaccine immunization schedule and IPV-only schedule was proposed by 74.42% (32/43) of the suggesters.

  Conclusion   The rate of acceptance of and knowledge about “2 + 2” poliomyelitis vaccine immunization schedule are high among medical staff in immunization clinics in Hangzhou city. The related training programs among medical staff at elder age, the publicity for the new schedule among vaccinees′ parents, and indication in outer packing of bOPV and IPV need to be promoted for the implementation of the “2 + 2” schedule.