Vaccine Development Process Research Articles

Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine intent among Latino SNAP participants in Southern California

BackgroundCOVID-19 is significantly impacting the health and well-being of the country, particularly for ethnic minority populations and low-income groups. Our goal was to determine COVID-19 vaccination intent in a low-income, Latino population receiving aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Southern California, and identify contributing factors and concerns.MethodsA cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey was conducted among participants in the Southern California Nutrition Incentives Program (¡Más Fresco! More Fresh). Only Latino respondents were included in this analysis. Primary outcome was vaccine intent trichotomized into: “definitely/likely yes”, “not sure/don’t know”, and “definitely/likely not.”ResultsThe majority of participants (n = 486) were female (93%), Spanish speaking (74%), with a median age of 40 years (IQR = 13). Approximately half (48%) reported they would get a COVID-19 vaccine, 39% were unsure, and 13% reported “definitely/likely not”. In the multivariable multinomial logistic regression model, participants with a household member with a COVID-19 health risk factor were more likely to be unsure about getting the vaccine. Participants who were primarily English speaking, did not receive the influenza vaccine last season, and reported not reading or talking about COVID-19 were more likely to report not intending to receive the vaccine. Many respondents were concerned about “side effects and ingredients”, and did not trust the vaccine development process, particularly with how fast it happened.ConclusionLow-income Latinos in Southern California were generally hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Culturally sensitive vaccine promotion campaigns need to address the concerns of minority populations who experience increased morbidity and mortality from COVID-19.

COVID-19 vaccine deliberation among people who inject drugs

BackgroundPeople who inject drugs (PWID) are at greater risk for severe morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 due to comorbid, chronic, medical conditions and structural inequities associated with housing instability and incarceration. As such, they are a population that would greatly benefit from COVID-19 vaccination. MethodsWe surveyed 350 syringe exchange clients between March 2021 and June 2021 to collect information on vaccine uptake among PWID, facilitators and barriers to vaccination, and demographic correlates of vaccine hesitancy. ResultsFindings highlight that among PWID, vaccination access was remarkably low with only 10% of the sample receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine acceptability among people who were unvaccinated was 42% highlighting barriers to access. Motivation for vaccination included a desire to keep family members and other community members safe and a desire to feel safe around other people. Barriers to vaccination included concerns about vaccine side effects, lack of concern surrounding the effects of COVID-19, and insufficient information about how the vaccine works, along with general distrust of the vaccine development and deployment process. ConclusionsThere is a need for structural interventions and individual behavioral interventions to improve COVID-19 vaccine access and uptake among PWID. Limitations and implications for next steps and future directions are discussed.

A rapid bead-based assay for screening of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies.

Quantitative determination of neutralizing antibodies against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is paramount in immunodiagnostics, vaccine efficacy testing, and immune response profiling among the vaccinated population. Cost-effective, rapid, easy-to-perform assays are essential to support the vaccine development process and immunosurveillance studies. We describe a bead-based screening assay for S1-neutralization using recombinant fluorescent proteins of hACE2 and SARS-CoV2-S1, immobilized on solid beads employing nanobodies/metal-affinity tags. Nanobody-mediated capture of SARS-CoV-2-Spike (S1) on agarose beads served as the trap for soluble recombinant ACE2-GFPSpark, inhibited by neutralizing antibody. The first approach demonstrates single-color fluorescent imaging of ACE2-GFPSpark binding to His-tagged S1-Receptor Binding Domain (RBD-His) immobilized beads. The second approach is dual-color imaging of soluble ACE2-GFPSpark to S1-Orange Fluorescent Protein (S1-OFPSpark) beads. Both methods showed a good correlation with the gold standard pseudovirion assay and can be adapted to any fluorescent platforms for screening.

Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19): A past and Present Prospective

Background: Corona virusis identified since 2002 and from seven strain severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus and middle east respiratory syndrome corona virus causes severity in patients and then in December 2019, an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome Corona virus 2 infection ensued in Wuhan, China and spread crosswise China and beyond. On February 12, 2020, WHO officially named the disease caused by the novel Corona virusas Corona virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Main Text: This form of virus comes up its growth when expose to any of the naturally expose material and the precaution for this is only single oriented, that is keeping yourself hygienic by washing your hands by utilizing high grade sanitizer. The literature survey revealed that Corona virus strain mainly severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus and middle east respiratory syndrome Corona virus and human corona virus preserve on various surfaces like metal, glass or plastic for about 9 days but inactivation of virus by utilizing various virucide. On infection, the virus has a surge of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which do damage to lung tissue, deterioration of lung function, and then eventually go to lung failure. Drug discovery against the virus is a challenging line of work owing to frequent recombination events. The evolution of a vaccine is another significant facet. Research is in ongoing stage to develop vaccine and medicines for COVID 19. In such circumstances, other system of medicineis widely used, like Allopathy, Ayurveda and Unani. Unani system of medicine utilized some measures for health protection during epidemics. In Unani medicine, during an epidemic, apart from isolation and quarantine, three measures are of utmost importance, impurification of surroundings using certain herbal drugs as fumigants or sprays, health promotion and immune-modulation, and use of health-protecting drugs and symptom-specific drugs. Conclusion: We require more structural biological details which put up rush up the drug or vaccine development process against corona virus. Thus, objective of this follow-up article is to focus on past to present perspective on corona virus pandemic.

Trust and willingness towards COVID-19 vaccine uptake: a mixed-method study in Ghana, 2021

BackgroundOn the account of limited doses of COVID-19 available to the country, the Government of Ghana created a priority list of persons to target for its vaccination agenda. In this paper, we look at trust and how it informs willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine among persons targeted for the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination program in Ghana.MethodsA sequential mixed-method investigation was conducted among the priority population - persons 60 years and above, frontline government functionaries, health workers, persons with underlying health conditions and, religious leaders and teachers. We sampled 415 respondents from the target population for a survey and 15 religious and traditional leaders from three cities; Accra, Cape Coast and Tamale for follow-up in-depth interviews based on the results of the survey data. Quantitative data is presented with descriptive proportions and multinomial logistic regression and thematic approach is applied to the interview data.ResultsTrust and willingness to take the vaccine are high in this priority population. Trust in the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine, rather than socioeconomic characteristics of respondents better predicted acceptance. From interview narratives, mistrust in political actors - both local and foreign, believe in superior protection of God and seeming misunderstanding of vaccine development processes countermand acceptance. On the other hand, the professional influence of people in one’s social networks, and past triumphs of vaccination programmes against concerning childhood diseases embed trust and acceptance.ConclusionsAttention ought to be given to trust enhancing triggers while strategic communication approaches are used to remove triggers of mistrust.

“On the last day of the last month, I will go”: A qualitative exploration of COVID-19 vaccine confidence among Ivoirian adults

The authorization of several high-efficacy vaccines for use against the novel SARS-CoV2 virus signals a transition in the global COVID-19 response. Vaccine acceptance is critical for pandemic control and has a variety of context- specific drivers that operate at the individual, group, and sociopolitical levels. Social and behavior change interventions can influence individual knowledge, attitudes, and intentions as well as community norms to facilitate widespread vaccine uptake. While considerable research has been done to explore vaccine confidence in high-income populations as well as with respect to childhood vaccinations, much work remains to be done in understanding attitudes and intentions in low and middle income countries for adult or novel vaccines. We conducted in-depth interviews with individuals who had recovered from COVID-19 (n = 8), people who had lost a family member to COVID-19 (n = 4), and health providers (n = 17). We also conducted focus group discussions with members of the general population (n = 24 groups) to explore social norms and community perceptions related to COVID-19, including prevention behaviors, stigma, and vaccines. Researchers collected data in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in November 2020. In considering whether to accept a future COVID-19 vaccine or not, individuals in the study weighed perceived risk of the vaccine against the severity of the disease. Perceived severity of rumored side effects or safety issues of vaccines were also a factor. Convenience was a secondary, albeit also important, consideration. While concerns about vaccine safety tended to produce an expressed intention to delay vaccination, conspiracy theories about those developing and promoting vaccines and their motives led people to say they would opt out entirely. Behavior change interventions must raise awareness and address misunderstandings about the purpose of vaccines, transparently communicate about vaccine safety and development processes, and engage trusted influencers to build an enabling environment for COVID-19 vaccine roll out.

COVID-19 vaccination in India: is it in right direction?

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which has spread rapidly throughout the world. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The pandemic has severely ravaged health systems and economic and social progress globally. In India, 3,36,52,745 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 4,46,918 deaths have been reported as of 25 Sep 2021. Symptoms of COVID-19 most commonly manifests as fever, dry cough, shortness of breath and tiredness. Most people (80%) experience mild disease and recover without hospitalization, while around 20% may become more seriously affected. While countries, including India, have taken strong measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 through better diagnostics and treatment, vaccines will provide a lasting solution by enhancing immunity and containing the disease spread. In response to the pandemic, the vaccine development process has been fast-tracked. COVID-19 vaccination dry run: just like army drills, dry run is a dummy process that helped the government assesses how ready we are for the COVID-19 immunization at the national level. It also highlighted any shortcomings in the mechanism laid out for the coronavirus vaccine drive so that we can address them before time and avoid any difficulty or problems during the actual immunization process. After administration of vaccine in population and recent research study has been done in India- that efficacy of Covishield vaccine is more than Covaxin vaccine.

Innovative vaccine approaches-a Keystone Symposia report.

The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines was the result of decades of research to establish flexible vaccine platforms and understand pathogens with pandemic potential, as well as several novel changes to the vaccine discovery and development processes that partnered industry and governments. And while vaccines offer the potential to drastically improve global health, low-and-middle-income countries around the world often experience reduced access to vaccines and reduced vaccine efficacy. Addressing these issues will require novel vaccine approaches and platforms, deeper insight how vaccines mediate protection, and innovative trial designs and models. On June 28-30, 2021, experts in vaccine research, development, manufacturing, and deployment met virtually for the Keystone eSymposium "Innovative Vaccine Approaches" to discuss advances in vaccine research and development.

Aviptadil: Class Effect of a Synthetic Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide as a Treatment Option in Patients with COVID-19 with Severe Respiratory Failure

Despite dynamic drug and vaccine development processes to reduce the disease burden of COVID-19, the treatment options are still very limited. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has a diversified physiological action with specific features of lung protection-related activities. VIP inhibits severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) gene replication in human monocytes and the viral replication in Calu-3 cells, thus further reducing the generation of proinflammatory mediators. Aviptadil, a synthetic form of VIP, is the only pulmonary therapeutic agent to have been granted ‘fast track’ status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to be allowed into both Phase II and III clinical trials. Initial binding of Aviptadil with non-structural protein (nsp) 10 and nsp16, which may inhibit the 2’-O-methyltransferase activity of the SARS-CoV-2 nsp10 and nsp16 complex. Aviptadil has already proved to be an effective option in the treatment of severe respiratory failures due to sepsis and other related lung injuries. Interim analysis results of this drug used in respiratory failure caused by SARS-CoV-2 has evolved a new hope in regard to safety and efficacy. The final results from a recently completed trial, as well as all currently ongoing trials, will clarify the class effect of this drug in the treatment of COVID-19 in future days.

Anticipating hopes, fears and expectations towards COVID-19 vaccines: A qualitative interview study in seven European countries

Vaccine uptake is essential to managing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccine hesitancy is a persistent concern. At the same time, both decision-makers and the general population have high hopes for COVID-19 vaccination. Drawing from qualitative interview data collected in October 2020 as part of the pan-European SolPan study, this study explores early and anticipatory expectations, hopes and fears regarding COVID-19 vaccination across seven European countries. We find that stances towards COVID-19 vaccines were shaped by personal lived experiences, but participants also aligned personal and communal interests in their considerations. Trust, particularly in expert institutions, was an important prerequisite for vaccine acceptance, but participants also expressed doubts about the rapid vaccine development process. Our findings emphasise the need to move beyond the study of factors driving vaccine hesitancy, and instead to focus on how people personally perceive vaccination in their particular social and political context.

Factors associated with parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19: The LA pandemic surveillance cohort study.

Children age 5-11 became eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in November 2021 in the United States, but vaccine uptake in this age group remains low. Understanding reasons why parents are hesitant to vaccinate their children may provide critical insights to help protect children from COVID-19 infection. This study examines factors associated with parents' willingness to vaccinate their children. We conducted a cross-sectional survey focusing on the Los Angeles County adult residents between March and June 2021. Our analytic sample focused on a subgroup of participants who self-report having a child. Predictors included parents' vaccination status and beliefs about COVID-19. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis and calculated the predicted probabilities of parents' willingness to vaccinate their children. Parents (n = 401) who worried about catching the virus, had trust in vaccine development and the COVID-19 vaccine approval process, and vaccinated against COVID-19 were more likely to be willing to vaccinate their children. Socio-economic, racial and ethnic differences were no longer statistically significant in the adjusted model. Predicted probabilities of parents who were willing to vaccine their children were 55% among the vaccinated and 36% among the unvaccinated. Parents' intent to vaccinate their children is influenced by their perceived severity of the pandemic, trust in the vaccine development process, and their vaccination status, which can be the potential drivers of hesitancy to vaccinate their children.

КОВИДНЫЙ НИГИЛИЗМ В УСЛОВИЯХ БОРЬБЫ С ПАНДЕМИЕЙ COVID-19

Significance. Emergence of such phenomenon as "COVID nihilism" and "COVID dissidents" can’t stop the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study is to review factors determining COVID nihilism in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the world and in Russia. Material and methods. The information base of the study included publications in periodicals and the Internet, statistical materials of the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), YandexCoronavirus. Statistics and methods: general logical, analytical, statistical analysis and empirical research. Results. The main reasons for COVID nihilism and opposition to vaccine and mask mandates included imposition of freedom, independence of one's own body, belief in conspiracy theories, and concern about the side effects of masks and vaccines. The Internet activity to sabotage anti-COVID measures in the Russian Federation is rather pronounced, yet it failed to result in any riots and pogroms, unlike the EU countries. The share of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Russian Federation is twice lower compared to China, for example, due to citizens' concerns about the need for vaccination and fear due to the low level of virology literacy among the population. The main barriers to stop the pandemic are disbelief that the pathogen SARS-CoV-2 exists, disbelief that masks protect against infection and microdroplets containing viral particles, improper face mask wearing (inside out), violation of social distance, misinformation on the virus prevention and spread, anti-vaccine attitude due to misunderstanding of the process of vaccine development and action, social instability and mistrust in the authorities. Consequences of the ongoing pandemic include burden on healthcare system, excess mortality and post-COVID complications affecting quality of life of the entire population and duration of a healthy life. Under-examination and care deficiency, shortage of personnel, and care facility repurposing result in higher mortality from causes not associated with the COVID-19 infection.

Tragedy of vaccine nationalism in the covid-19 pandemic

The pursuit of all the countries to end the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the development and distribution of the available vaccines to the global population. However, the emergence of “vaccine nationalism” has posed a predicament to solve the global crisis. Vaccine nationalism seems to be delaying the process to achieve global victory on the COVID-19 due to a lack of supply of vaccines. It is in this background that the context of the paper has been set. It initially discusses the global COVID-19 vaccine development process. It examines the approach of vaccine nationalism by rich countries and perceives the concept of vaccine nationalism through the lens of various political philosophies, such as capitalism, Marxism, liberalism, Rawls's theory of justice, utilitarianism, and Nozick's theory of justice. Further, it attempts to understand India's approach to vaccine diplomacy and vaccine nationalism. Lastly, it comprehends the need to recognize a framework to change the narrative of the COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution

580. Hesitancy in Uptake and Recommendation of COVID-19 Vaccines by US Healthcare Workers

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought vaccination to the forefront of discourse on public health. The rapid speed of COVID-19 vaccine development, utilization of novel technology, and an atmosphere of politicized misinformation have created a perfect storm for vaccine hesitancy. As early adopters of vaccination, HCWs set an example for the general population; as trusted sources of medical information, they educate and inform. However, comparatively little work has investigated HCWs' attitudes toward vaccination and how those attitudes drive their recommendation behavior.MethodsWe surveyed hospital employees about their personal reasons for hesitancy and beliefs about patient hesitancies and randomly assigned them to see one of three messages aimed at increasing vaccine confidence. Message themes included an appeal to return to normal life (Normalcy), a risk comparison between vaccinating or not (SDT), and an explanation of the speed of safe and effective vaccine development (Process). ResultsOf the 674 NC hospital employees who completed our survey in February 2021, 98% had been offered the COVID-19 vaccine, and 80% had already accepted. For the 20% who had not received the vaccine, the top reasons for hesitancy involved the speed of development and testing, and concerns of vaccine safety and effectiveness. We also found differences in susceptibility to misinformation and vaccine hesitancy across political affiliation, which was higher in Republicans compared to Democrats. HCWs were generally very comfortable recommending the COVID-19 vaccine to patients and supported the idea of sharing the message they read. Although the risk comparison message was most trusted personally, the process message was rated as both the most helpful to patients and the most likely to be shared with them (see Figure 1). This suggests that what is most appealing on a personal level is not necessarily what a HCW would recommend to their patients.Rating of personal opinions of the passages. On a scale from 1 to 7 with 1 = Strongly Disagree and 7 = Strongly Agree. This chart shows the average message ratings across the board when answering whether they thought the passages were understandable, helpful, correct, believable, and trustworthy. (Error bars are 95% CI) There was no significant difference across the messages. The Process message is seen as most helpful and is most likely to be shared with patient than the other messages On left, the average answer on a scale from 1 to 5 for “Do you think the passage you just read would help your patients feel more comfortable about getting the vaccine?” and on right, the average answer for “Would you share this passage with your patients?”ConclusionHCWs' high uptake and minimal hesitancy in recommending the COVID-19 vaccine is encouraging and merits further exploration for how to increase confidence in HCW who are hesitant to discuss and recommend vaccines to patients, as several highlighted the importance of respecting patient autonomy. Disclosures Rebecca Rayburn-Reeves, PhD, Centene Corporation (Grant/Research Support, Research Grant or Support) Jenna Clark, PhD, Centene Corporation (Grant/Research Support, Research Grant or Support) Jan Lindemans, PhD, Centene Corportation (Grant/Research Support, Scientific Research Study Investigator)

ANATOMI KERJASAMA BILATERAL INDONESIA-CHINA DALAM PENGEMBANGAN VAKSIN COVID-19

Each country in the world began to put their struggle to cope the COVID-19 Pandemic in their top priority since early 2020. They have been using all possible resources, particularly through their foreign relations to support their effort to tackle the pandemic. Since the pandemic is a global problem, all country in the world need to cooperate each other and gain the best solution for their people. In this particular case, we do a research on the international cooperation in developing COVID-19 vaccine. This research aims to see how the bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and China in COVID-19 vaccine development. We do a critical study on this case, such as Indonesian government’s side interests, business interests of several ministers, public questions regarding unsafe vaccine, vaccine monopoly, out of procedure of the vaccine development process, and also transparency and open access about the development of the vaccine. This research uses a qualitative method with bilateral cooperation as the concept. Data collection is using literature study, observation, and interview. The result found out that the cooperation not only on vaccine development, but also economy recovery and others.

Vaccine Confidence and Hesitancy at the Start of COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment in the UK: An Embedded Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Approval for the use of COVID-19 vaccines has been granted in a number of countries but there are concerns that vaccine uptake may be low amongst certain groups.Methods: This study used a mixed methods approach based on online survey and an embedded quantitative/qualitative design to explore perceptions and attitudes that were associated with intention to either accept or refuse offers of vaccination in different demographic groups during the early stages of the UK's mass COVID-19 vaccination programme (December 2020). Analysis used multivariate logistic regression, structural text modeling and anthropological assessments.Results: Of 4,535 respondents, 85% (n = 3,859) were willing to have a COVID-19 vaccine. The rapidity of vaccine development and uncertainties about safety were common reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. There was no evidence for the widespread influence of mis-information, although broader vaccine hesitancy was associated with intentions to refuse COVID-19 vaccines (OR 20.60, 95% CI 14.20–30.30, p < 0.001). Low levels of trust in the decision-making (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.08, 2.48, p = 0.021) and truthfulness (OR 8.76, 95% CI 4.15–19.90, p < 0.001) of the UK government were independently associated with higher odds of refusing COVID-19 vaccines. Compared to political centrists, conservatives and liberals were, respectively, more (OR 2.05, 95%CI 1.51–2.80, p < 0.001) and less (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.22–0.41, p < 0.001) likely to refuse offered vaccines. Those who were willing to be vaccinated cited both personal and public protection as reasons, with some alluding to having a sense of collective responsibility.Conclusion: Dominant narratives of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy are misconceived as primarily being driven by misinformation. Key indicators of UK vaccine acceptance include prior behaviors, transparency of the scientific process of vaccine development, mistrust in science and leadership and individual political views. Vaccine programmes should leverage the sense of altruism, citizenship and collective responsibility that motivated many participants to get vaccinated.

Vaccine Clinical Development

Vaccine Clinical Development is an integrated part of the overall process of vaccine development, which involves clinical trials in which study participants are usually prospectively and randomly allocated to receive the vaccine candidate or a control vaccine. Participants are then actively monitored to generate information on safety, and often immune responses and/or cases of the target disease. Clinical development starts with small phase 1 studies in tens or hundreds of volunteers. In phase 2, volunteers in the target population are studied for safety and evidence of a desired effect, often an immune response. In phase 3, pivotal studies will generally examine prevention of the target disease with at least 3000 participants receiving the vaccine candidate. The key outputs are reports for regulatory agencies, policy makers and health care workers to support marketing approval and appropriate ways to use the vaccine. Clinical trial designs and results are made public through registries and peer-reviewed publications.

Perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines among osteopathic medical students (OMS)

BackgroundResearch has shown that physicians' recommendations are one of the top predictors for individuals to receive vaccines. This study examined the perceptions of new COVID-19 vaccines among the medical students at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) and the factors that influenced their opinions. ObjectiveTo measure NYITCOM students' perception of a new COVID-19 vaccine and the factors which drive their opinions. MethodsAn electronic survey of 37 questions was distributed to the Osteopathic Medical Students (OMS I-IV) of NYITCOM in October of 2020. Results1770 total students received the survey, and 197 responded (11%). 45% (88/197) of the respondents reported that they would receive new COVID-19 vaccines if they were available at the time of the survey, while 19% (37/197) reported that they had not yet decided. Confidence in the US healthcare system, pharmaceutical trust, the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA)'s minimum effectiveness level, adequate vaccine testing, additional vaccine dose, and antivaccine acquaintances were significant predictors of intended vaccine uptake. ConclusionsOur findings confirmed a low acceptance of the new COVID-19 vaccine among OMS students, which mirrored the general public's low acceptance rate. Better education of OMS about vaccination benefits and the vaccine development process may increase future immunization rates.

The intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine among the students of health science in Vietnam

ABSTRACT This study determines factors related to the intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 for health science students in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), using both the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model. A cross-sectional survey was considered in April 2021, using a self-administered questionnaire to all health sciences students of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City (UMP), Vietnam. The multiple regression was performed to specify the predictable factors of willingness to get a future COVID-19 vaccination. A total of 854 students completed the survey, whose vaccination acceptance was 77.1%. Predictors of intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination included year of education, knowledge, and the HBM and TPB variables including the perceived benefits, cues to action, perceived behavioral control, and positive attitudes toward the vaccine (all p < .05). The main reasons for hesitancy included being afraid of the side effects (73.0%), vaccine safety (65.3%), and the process of new vaccine development (53.6%). The study examined students’ intention toward COVID-19 vaccine and related factors to notify university administrators and policymakers. The findings showed the acceptability of vaccines had differences within the education year of students, besides, knowledge, perception of benefits, cues to action, behavioral control, and attitudes toward the vaccine were positive predictive factors. These may be useful for developing health education messages to promoting vaccination acceptability for students who had hesitancy of a new vaccine and in broader groups.

Implications of attitudes and beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines for vaccination campaigns in the United States: A latent class analysis

Unprecedented global efforts in vaccine development have resulted in effective vaccines for COVID-19. The pandemic response in the US has been highly politicized, resulting in significant opposition to public health efforts, including vaccines. We aimed to understand patterns of attitudes and beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine to inform vaccination campaigns.583 English speaking United States adults were surveyed November 18–29, 2020. Participants answered 11 questions about their attitudes and beliefs about a COVID-19 vaccine, including perceived vaccine effectiveness, likelihood of getting vaccinated, and concerns that vaccine development was rushed/influenced by politics. We conducted a latent class analysis to identify profiles of attitudes/beliefs about a COVID-19 vaccine. We identified four classes of COVID-19 vaccine beliefs. The pro-vaccine class (28.8%) was willing to get vaccinated and had broadly positive beliefs about the vaccine. The development concerns class (27.8%) was willing to get vaccinated but was concerned about the development process. The third class (22.6%) was largely unsure if they would get vaccinated and if their peer groups would be vaccinated. The forth class (anti-vaccine, 20.8%) was dominated by an unwillingness to get vaccinated, vaccine distrust, vaccine development concerns, and peers groups with negative vaccine intentions. Given the large proportion of individuals who were concerned about the COVID-19 vaccine development process, messaging about rigor and approval processes may be critical to securing this group’s commitment to vaccination. Having scientific and cultural leaders endorse vaccination may also be influential.