Inactivated COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among midwifery students: A prospective online survey

Abstract

Limited information on vaccines' reliability and lack of sufficient scientific data may cause suspicion among individuals concerning the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of midwifery students to an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine. This prospective online survey was conducted between 01 March and 01 May 2021 with 172 midwifery students. An anonymous online survey was developed by the researchers, taking into account the studies in the literature examining the attitudes of individuals towards the vaccine. The online survey included a total of 19 questions, covering five main topics. The study revealed that 118 (68%) of 172 midwifery students were hesitant to get vaccinated. There was a significant difference between the vaccine-hesitant and -accepting groups regarding the general attitude towards the vaccine (respectively; <0.001, 0.001). It was determined that 48.1% of the vaccine-accepting participants strongly agreed that this vaccination should be mandatory for all midwifery students working in a clinical practice internship. Higher vaccination willingness levels are expected in students who attend health curricula due to the high literacy level in health-related issues. In conclusion, healthcare professionals who are in contact with patients should be informed more accurately about newly developed vaccines.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Limited information on vaccines' reliability and lack of sufficient scientific data caused suspicion about the COVID-19 vaccines among many people .What do the results of this study add? Almost half of the participants in both groups agreed that the vaccine could be ineffective if the virus is mutated. Nearly half of the hesitant group thought that the COVID-19 vaccine might not be effective and were concerned about serious side effects.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? This study reveals that healthcare professionals who are in contact with patients should be informed more accurately about newly developed vaccines.