IntroductionWith the sudden outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), vaccines appear to be the most efficient measure in combating spread. However, vaccines are only effective if a community collectively uptakes vaccination. This approach is growing increasingly difficult with the emergence of 'Vaccine Hesitancy.' This paper aims to determine the association between university curricula and the degree of hesitancy for the COVID-19 vaccine. MethodsThe online questionnaire assessed demographic data, prior knowledge of vaccines, attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines using an adapted version of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group's Vaccine Hesitancy Survey (VHS) and factors likely to motivate vaccine uptake. By using binary scoring, the degree of hesitancy among students was determined. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on VHS revealed underlying causes of hesitancy. To analyze the dependence between hesitancy and curriculum, a chi-squared test was conducted. ResultsMedical students scored higher for prior knowledge of vaccines (M = 3.54) as opposed to non-medical students (M = 3.49). Medical students responded favorably to COVID-19 vaccines with only 1.37% showing hesitancy for all nine items of VHS, compared to 2.55% of non-medical students. EFA produced three subscales within the VHS: lack of confidence, risk factor concern, and misinformation. The lack of confidence factor accounted for 65% of the data obtained. The chi-square test solidified that vaccine hesitancy is dependent on curriculum. ConclusionThe majority of non-medical students showed hesitancy towards obtaining COVID-19 vaccines compared to medical students who were more willing, largely owing to their knowledge and understanding of vaccines.

The global struggle against the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) on physical and mental health and on economic and social aspects of human life continues even after two and a half years have passed since the emergence of this virus. The development of vaccines was a milestone. By June 2022, billions of people have been vaccinated against the deadly virus. However, like any other vaccine, the various vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also cause a variety of adverse effects. Therefore this study aimed to determine the different acute side effects experienced after receiving the vaccines and correlating them with some socio-demographic and biomedical factors. MethodologyThis cross-sectional study has a sample size of 467. Study participants were recruited after fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria. After gaining approval from the Ethical Review Board (ERB) of CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan, an online questionnaire was distributed via social media. The survey questionnaire had a series of questions regarding the socio-demographic and biomedical characteristics of the participants, as well as the type of vaccine they got, followed by questions about the development of adverse effects after each dose (first and second). Data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0 (Released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). The analysis was carried out in a confidence range of 95%, and a p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. ResultsSinopharm (76.0%) was the most frequently received vaccine. Adverse events were reported more after the first dose (79.7%) than in the second (67.2%) (p value 0.001). The reported adverse events after either dose were of mild intensity (p<0.05). None of the individuals reported serious adverse events or hospitalization after getting the shots. Females, younger age groups, and individuals with BMI in the underweight category were more prone to developing symptoms and experiencing difficulty doing routine work after getting the doses. The associations were statistically significant (p<0.05). Blood group (A,B,0,AB), past COVID-19 history, and smoking status were not positively associated with the appearance of symptoms after either dose or with inconvenience doing daily work post-vaccination. ConclusionThe vaccines developed against COVID-19 offer benefits that outweigh the few mild adverse effects experienced. None of these symptoms is severe enough to stop an individual from doing routine work or result in morbidity or mortality. Therefore, people should avoid any hesitancy towards getting vaccinated to get past this pandemic.