Abstract A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2018 to September 2018 to assess the level of awareness among healthcare workers regarding rotavirus infection and its vaccination in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The study site was conducted at tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. Closed and open ended questionnaires were distributed via non-probability convenient sampling. The sample size was 257. Among the study participants, 247 (96.1%) of the participants had good level of awareness regarding rotavirus, whereas 212 (82.5%) had awareness regarding the vaccine. The mean awareness score was 16.16 ± 4.097 out of a maximum score of 22. Both male and female participants had almost equal awareness regarding the rotavirus infection (Males = 96, 93.2%, Females = 151, 98%) and vaccination (Males = 87, 84%, Females = 125, 81.1%). The mean awareness was directly related with the level of education of the participants, i.e. MBBS/FCPS/MCPS = 221(85.9%), MBBS = 209(81.5%), B.Sc. Nursing = 206(80%), and Basic Education = 220(85.7%) knew about the vaccine. Keywords: Rotavirus, Diarrhoea, Vaccination, Healthcare workers, Awareness. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.1150 Introduction Rotavirus gastroenteritis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The virus mainly affects children under five years of age and is the most common cause of hospitalisation worldwide for gastroenteritis. 1 Despite the fact that new immunisation techniques have been developed, rotavirus still remains the most common cause of infectious diarrhoeal death in children. 2 Despite better rehydration therapy and implementation of diarrhoea control measures globally, the mortality is still high in various regions; nearly 65,000 children die of the infection in 22 countries of Eastern Mediterranean Region. 3 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has now recommended the use of rotavirus vaccines in routine immunisation programmes worldwide. 4 There are two commercially available vaccines: RotaTeq (licensed in 2006) and Rotarix (licensed in 2008). Rotavirus vaccine has been an integral part of the vaccination programmes in 81 countries, such as the United States, the UK, Russia, etc. 5 Many members of the Low Middle Income Countries group have included the vaccine in their immunisations programmes such as Iran, Bangladesh, and India. 6,7 Rotavirus diarrhoea accounts for under-five child mortality rate of 50-100 deaths per 100,000 children in Pakistan, as of 2013. 3 Rotavirus is the 10th vaccine to be added to the Expanded Programme on Immunisation; it has been introduced in Punjab in 2017, which reports about 1.2 million cases of diarrhoea annually with deaths due to rotavirus accounting for 40-45%. The vaccine will later be introduced in the remaining provinces which accounts for 20% of Pakistan birth cohort. 8 The aim of the study was to assess the level of awareness regarding rotavirus disease and its vaccine among healthcare practitioners because studies have shown that their recommendations actually influence and affect the parents' decision regarding vaccination of their children. 9 A bigger study on the national level can be conducted to determine the level of awareness regarding Rotavirus vaccine so that recommendations can be made to patients who lack awareness about the disease and the vaccine. Methodology The study was initiated after taking ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board of Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. All participants enrolled, were informed, and verbal and written consent was taken from each of them. They were given a self-made questionnaire consisting of both open- ended and closed-ended questions. Incomplete questionnaires were discarded at the end of each study. The tertiary care hospitals enrolled were Shifa International Hospital, Military Hospital, Combined Military Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Holy Family Vol. 71, No. 5, May 2021 1479 SHORT REPORT Awareness and knowledge regarding rotavirus disease and vaccine among healthcare providers in tertiary care settings Amna Yousaf Shah, 1 Syed Hashim Ali Inam, 2 Shanzay Jamal, 3 Syed Jarrar Haider, 4 Mishal Iqbal, 5 Hamza Jamil 6 1,2,6 Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, 3-5 Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Correspondence: Syed Hashim Ali Inam. Email: hashimali95@live.co.uk