COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among medical students

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy leads to an increase in morbidity, mortality, and health-care burden. Reasons for vaccine hesitancy include anti-vax group statements, misinformation about vaccine side effects, speed of vaccine development, and general disbelief in the existence of viruses like COVID-19. Medical students are future physicians and are key influencers in the uptake of vaccines. Hence, investigating vaccine hesitancy in this population can help to overcome any barrier in vaccine acceptance. METHODS: In this paper, we review five articles on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in medical students and consider potential future research. All published papers relevant to the topic were obtained through extensive search using major databases. Inclusion criteria included studies that specifically investigated COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in medical students published between 2020 and 2021. Exclusion criteria included studies that investigated vaccine hesitancy in health-care professionals, allied health, and viruses apart from COVID-19. A total of 10 studies were found from our search. RESULTS: Based on our exclusion criteria, only five studies were included in our review. The sample size ranged from 168 to 2133 medical students. The percentage of vaccine hesitancy in medical students ranged from 10.6 to 65.1%. Reasons for vaccine hesitancy included concern about serious side effects, vaccine efficacy, misinformation and insufficient information, disbelief in public health experts, financial costs, and belief that they had acquired immunity. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that vaccine hesitancy is an important cause of the incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 cases. Identifying the barriers of vaccine hesitancy in prospective physicians can help increase vaccination uptake in the general public. Further research is necessary to identify the root cause of these barriers.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy among Teachers and Students: A Scoping Review of Prevalence and Risk Factors

“…Conspiracy theories targeting COVID-19 vaccines, a lack of information and trust in vaccine benefits, and a lack of trust in health systems and pharmaceutical and healthcare providers are additional key elements that may interfere with conducting successful vaccination programmes in various nations [46,[51][52][53][54]. Also, unreliable and incomplete health information may fuel rumours and conspiracy theories against COVID-19 vaccinations among teachers and students [49].…”

Implementation of ‘One Health’ approach in Kerala state, India – A systematic review

“…Community involvement is essential in determining what is likely to be effective in their environment, which, down the line, impacts surveillance, reporting methods and policies (Durrance‐Bagale et al., 2021). The COVID‐19 pandemic has brought to the fore the importance of preparedness and collaboration against zoonotic diseases, and there can be no better time to bolster the need for uptake and integration of the OH approach, as governments, policymakers and people are willing to listen (Suhail & Moinuddin, 2023). The formulation of policies and enactment into law will require significant political will and effort, together with the onboarding of all stakeholders.…”

Social and Structural Determinants of Health Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Older Adults in the United States

“…Vaccine hesitancy makes it difficult to achieve herd immunity, which has led to an increased risk of mortality and morbidity in immunocompromised people, such as pregnant women, older adults, and children within the community [14][15][16]. Additionally, vaccine hesitancy can lead to increased healthcare expenditure, adverse health outcomes, and more burden on families, the healthcare system, and the government [17,18].…”