Vaccine hesitancy: Beliefs and barriers associated with COVID-19 vaccination among Egyptian medical students.

Autor: Saied SM; Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt., Saied EM; Faculty of Medicine, Pathology Department, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt., Kabbash IA; Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt., Abdo SAE; Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of medical virology [J Med Virol] 2021 Jul; Vol. 93 (7), pp. 4280-4291. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Mar 25.
DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26910
Abstrakt: Background: Vaccine hesitancy poses serious challenges for achieving coverage for population immunity. It is necessary to achieve high COVID-19 vaccination acceptance rates and medical students' coverage as future health care providers. The study aimed to explore the level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and determine the factors and barriers that may affect vaccination decision-making.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among medical students in Tanta and Kafrelsheikh Universities, Egypt. Data collection was done via an online questionnaire during January 2021 from 2133 students.
Results: The majority of the participant students (90.5%) perceived the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine, 46% had vaccination hesitancy, and an equal percentage (6%) either definitely accepted or refused the vaccine. Most of the students had concerns regarding the vaccine's adverse effects (96.8%) and ineffectiveness (93.2%). The most confirmed barriers of COVID-19 vaccination were deficient data regarding the vaccine's adverse effects (potential 74.17% and unknown 56.31%) and insufficient information regarding the vaccine itself (72.76%).
Conclusion: The government, health authority decision-makers, medical experts, and universities in Egypt need to work together and make efforts to reduce hesitancy and raise awareness about vaccinations, consequently improving the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines.
(© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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