Background COVID-19 was first discovered by WHO, 2019 in Wuhan, later spread to different parts of the world with thousands of deaths. COVID-19 vaccine was very important in reducing severity of the infection. Willingness to be vaccinated considerably varied according to regions. We assessed factors influencing intentions and willingness to receive covid-19 vaccines among teaching and non-teaching staff in higher institutions of learning. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study design was adopted employing quantitative data collection and analysis approaches. Data was collected electronically using different online sources including emails, social medial, popular media platforms and websites. 363 sample determined using Kish & Leslie (1965) of simple random sampling for single proportions. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis done using SPP (23.0). Results 130(35.8%) intentions and willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine. Influencing factors were; age between 30-39 (aOR=15491.54,95% CI=359-667551.9, P=0.000**, 40-49 (aOR=931, 95% CI=25.6-33816.4, p=0.000**), gender (aOR=4.66, 95% CI=2.06-1056, p=0.000*), staff category (aOR=7.71, 95% CI=4.34-14.71,p=0.000**), ownership (aOR=0.08, 95% CI=0.032-0.206, p=0.000**), being under health insurance (aOR=200.62, 95% CI=29.6-1359.18, p=0.000*, residency (aOR=19.88, 95% CI=4.63-85.26, p=0.000*), knowing where to get the vaccine (aOR=121.15, 95% CI=161.1-910.3, p=0.000**), COVID-19 vaccine important for prevention of the infection (aOR=19.73, 95% CI=2.27-171.52, p=0.007*), minor side effects of COVID-19 vaccines manageable (aOR=002, 95% CI= 0.00-0.15, p=0.000**), take painkillers if developed side effects (aOR=8.67, 95% CI=4.87-15.43, p=0.000*), responsibility to protect others by getting vaccinated (aOR=0.36, 95% CI=0.21-0.62, p=0.000**), concerned about getting infected with COVID-19 from the vaccine (aOR=0.002, 95% CI=0.00-0.03, p=0.000*). Conclusion Intentions and willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine was low. This was attributed to age, gender, staff category, ownership, knowledge, attitude, where to get the vaccine, trust, vaccine efficacy, concern about getting infected after receiving the vaccine. MoH and development partners should emphasize improving attitude and knowledge of teaching and non-teaching staff, especially in government institutions to increase willingness.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

The authors received no specific funding for this work.

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This study was approved by Clarke International University Research Ethics Committee.

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