Covid-19 vaccine confidence and hesitancy in nursing students and faculty at a large academic medical center

Abstract

BackgroundLittle is known about nursing faculty and nursing student's confidence or potential hesitancy to receive the Covid-19 vaccine once it was available. MethodsAn anonymous electronic survey of nursing students and faculty was conducted at a large academic center in the eastern U.S. FindingsBoth students and faculty reported they were fairly or completely confident that the vaccine was safe (n = 235, 89.4%) and that it would effectively mitigate their risk (n = 230, 87.5%). There was a 52.6% decrease in vaccine hesitancy from 6 months prior (p <.01); 22% (n = 58) of those currently willing to receive the vaccine reported moderate to high concern about its side-effects and/or long-term efficacy. Access to vaccine research, vaccine education, and watching others be inoculated, had mitigated their concerns from the previous six months. DiscussionWhile both nursing students and faculty reported having high confidence in the efficacy and safety of the Covid-19 vaccine, concerns remained.