COVID-19 Vaccine from the Perspective of University Students: Where Are We in Regards to Vaccine Decision-Making?

Abstract

Reactions against vaccines developed to combat COVID-19 are rising in all countries. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the opinions in regards to the vaccine in order to develop a positive perspective by identifying the negative opinions. This study was conducted to determine university students’ attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine. Study Design: Cross-sectional study Material and Method: This research was conducted as a cross-sectional study with university students studying at the Health Programs Campus of Cappadocia University in the Province of Nevşehir. In this context, study data were collected from a total of 332 students to reach power of 99% based on the known sample calculation. Results: 51.2% of the participants (n=170) in this study were between the ages of 18-20; 69.3% (n=230) were females; 24.1% (n=80) were students in Medical Laboratory Techniques Program and 52.4% (n=174) were 2nd year students. According to the results, 53.9% (n=179) of the participants believed that they could easily recover when they got sick and 76.6% of the participants (n=254) stated that they were worried about the side effects of the vaccine. Participants’ total mean score from the attitudes towards the COVID-19 Vaccine Scale was found to be 3.18 ± 0.76. Conclusion: Students were found to have a positive attitude towards the vaccine, but they still had some concerns. It is proposed to design further comprehensive studies to eliminate students’ concerns, to explain the effectiveness of the vaccine in a transparent way and to better understand the reasons underlying the vaccine hesitancy.