Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a leading cause of liver cancer and remains a global public health concern. The risk of acquiring HBV is higher in HCWs than in non-HCWs. Medical students are considered a high-risk group because similar to HCWs, they tend to be exposed to body fluids and blood during training in clinical settings. New infections can be effectively prevented and eliminated with an increased coverage of HBV vaccination. The purpose of this study was to evaluate HBV immunization coverage and associated factors among medical students attending universities in Bosaso, Somalia. Methodology An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A stratified sampling method was employed to draw a sample from four universities in Bosaso. From each university, participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed among 247 medical students. The data were analysed with SPSS version 21, and the findings are presented in tables and proportions. The chi-square test was used to measure statistical associations. Results Although 73.7% of the respondents had an above-average knowledge level of HBV and 95.9% knew that HBV can be prevented by vaccination, only 2.8% were fully immunized, while 5.3% were partially immunized. The students reported six main reasons for not being vaccinated: unavailability of the vaccine (32.8%), high vaccine cost (26.7%), fear of vaccine side effects (12.6%), lack of trust in vaccine quality (8.5%), lack of awareness about where to get vaccinated (5.7%), and lack of time (2.8%). Occupation and the availability of HBV vaccination in the workplace were associated with HBV vaccine uptake (p values of 0.005 and 0.047, respectively). Conclusion HBV immunization coverage among medical students was extremely low (2.8%), indicating the urgent need for increased vaccination coverage in this population. This should start with evidence-based advocacy for the development of a clear national HBV elimination policy, followed by implementing effective, large-scale immunization strategies and interventions. Future studies should expand the sample size to include multiple cities for increased representativeness and conduct HBV titre tests among participants.

Background Hepatitis B virus infection is considered a serious health problem in developing countries since it causes chronic liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and hepatic failure. The risk of acquiring HBV is four times higher in HCWs compared to non-HCWs. Medical students are also considered a high-risk group for HBV infection for their exposure to body fluids and blood during medical training in health facilities. The purpose of this study is to evaluate HBV vaccination coverage and associated factors among medical students in Bosaso universities, Somalia. Methodology: An institutional-based cross-sectional study has been conducted in four universities. The online raosoft sample size calculator has been used to calculate the sample size. A stratified sampling method is employed to draw participants from the four universities. In each university, the research participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Self-administered questionnaires have been distributed among 247 medical students. Data were analyzed by using the SPSS version 21, and findings were presented in tables, and proportions. Results Only 2.8% were fully vaccinated, while 5.3% have ever started taking the HBV doses. The main reasons for not getting vaccinated against Hep B included unavailability of the vaccines (32.8%), high vaccine cost (26.7%), fear of vaccine side effects (12.6%), lack of trust in vaccine quality (8.5%,), lack of awareness of the vaccine whereabouts (5.7%), and lack of time (2.8%). Occupation, monthly income, marital status, and availability of testing policy in the workplace were associated with HBV vaccine uptake with a correlation coefficient of 0.3, 0.2, 0.13, and 0.2, respectively (P-value < 0.05). 73.7% of the respondents scored higher than the average knowledge score regarding knowledge of HBV. Conclusion The vaccination coverage among medical students in Bosaso was very low (2.8%) and sheds light on the urgent importance of a National HBV infection elimination policy to be developed with Hep B vaccines being available and easily accessible to those at high risk including medical students. Expansion of the sample size to include multiple cities for increased representativeness plus Hepatitis B titer tests is recommended.