COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among health science students in Vietnam, 2021

Abstract

Objective: Health science students (HSS) are among the group of frontline healthcare providers who are likely to be exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by working with infected patients. With vaccines being one of the most crucial solutions to stop the pandemic, high COVID-19 vaccination coverage must be achieved in this group as soon as the vaccines are available. This research aimed to assess the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance rate and its associated factors among health science students in Vietnam. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, which surveyed online 8873 students in six health science universities in Vietnam, following the Health Belief Model (HBM) framework. Results: In this study, 84.3% of students accepting the COVID-19 vaccines, 14.7% of students being undecided for vaccination, and 1% of students not accepting vaccination. Determinants of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance included their school year, self-reported health status, allergy histories, susceptibility in risk perception, and factors of the HBM model included perceived benefits and cues to action (p <0.01). In contrast, perceived barriers had a negative association with the probability of vaccine acceptance (p <0.01). These results should be used as scientific evidence to support the development of planning strategies to optimize vaccination uptake and success in vaccination campaigns for both health science students and the general population. Conclusion: Health science students participating in the study had a high rate of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance. The theoretical framework recognized factors that influence vaccine acceptance. These are considered evidence for the development of planning strategies to optimize the vaccination uptake and offer success in vaccination campaigns for both health science students and the general population.