Vaccine Coverage against Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 in Health Sciences Students during COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

Abstract

Vaccination against influenza and SARS-CoV-2 is recommended in health sciences students to reduce the risk of acquiring these diseases and transmitting them to patients. The aim of the study was to evaluate how the pandemic influenced the modification of influenza vaccination coverage during the 2019/2020 and 2021/2022 campaigns and to analyze the vaccination coverage against SARS-CoV-2 in health sciences students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among students of the Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry of the Complutense University of Madrid. A questionnaire was administered in two stages, the first, Q1, before the start of the pandemic, where we analyzed influenza coverage during the 2019/2020 campaign and a second, Q2, 18 months after the start of the pandemic where we analyzed influenza coverage during the 2021/2022 campaign and coverage against SARS-CoV-2. A total of 1894 students (58.78% of the total of those enrolled) participated. Flu vaccination coverage increased from 26.7% in Q1 to 35.0% in Q2 (p < 0.05), being higher in the age group older than 21 years, who studied nursing, were in their fourth year and lived with people at risk. Vaccination coverage against SARS-CoV-2 was very high (97.8%), especially in students vaccinated against influenza. Coverage of the influenza vaccine in health sciences students increased from 2019–2020 to 2021–2022, being higher in the age group older than 21 years, who studied nursing, were in their first and fourth year and lived with people at risk. Coverage of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in health sciences students was very high, especially in those vaccinated against influenza.

The relationship between knowledge about the pandemic and willingness to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 in medical students in Poland: A cross-sectional survey

“…It is a much better result than the results from a study conducted in Slovakia, where the coverage was 71.7% ( 18 ). A study of January 2022 in Spain got similar results, with 97.8% of students being vaccinated ( 19 ). They also found that the coverage against influenza was higher in students vaccinated against COVID-19 (35.5 vs. 14.3%).…”

Attitudes and Behaviors towards Vaccination in Portuguese Nursing Students

“…In the United States [14], high scores on attitudes and knowledge were achieved by 74.3% of medical students, 62.7% of pharmacy students, 57.1% of doctoral nursing students, and 24.7% of undergraduate nursing students. The authors conclude that negative attitudes, lack of knowledge and general discomfort exist in all programs, but in relation to vaccination, they occur especially in nursing [14], as opposed to the results obtained in Portugal and Spain [11][12][13]. In this sense, it is important to highlight that some factors can interfere with the effectiveness of the health planning process, namely behavior.…”

“…All enrolled students, regardless of year, were invited to complete the Scale of "Attitudes and Behaviors in Relation to Vaccination among Students of Health Sciences" (ACVECS-according to its Spanish initials) [10]), previously translated by two translators, which resulted in an overlapping translation. The ACVECS scale, which aims to measure health students' attitudes and behaviors with regard to vaccination, is made up of 24 items, the first 15 of which measure the "attitudes" dimension and the last 9, "behaviors" [10][11][12][13]. These 24 items were answered on a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 0 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree.…”

“…These 24 items were answered on a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 0 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree. For items 1, 2, 7, 8, 15 and 23, the scores will need to be reversed before analysis, given the way the questions are worded [10][11][12][13]. Beliefs, behaviors and general attitude scores of ≥3 were considered positive (i.e., vaccinationfavorable), ≤1 negative and =2 considered neutral or indifferent [12].…”

“…Considering the issue of health promotion to be of the utmost importance, mainly in the sequence of experiences experienced in the current context, and following studies carried out in Spain [10][11][12][13], the objective of the study was to analyze the attitudes and behaviors of nursing students in the face of vaccination, but within the particularities of the Portuguese context. Regarding particular objectives, the aim is to: determine influenza and COVID-19 vaccination coverage in a sample of nursing students; identify characteristics related to this vaccination coverage; and correlate attitudes and behaviors with regard to vaccination with age, gender, and year of study.…”