Background: Vaccine reluctance toward the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic can be a possible threat to global public health. A strenuous and exceptional effort was made to develop a vaccine for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is little available published information about the acceptance of the incoming vaccine in the community. This study is aimed to assess the incidence of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine, and its determinants among medical students of Qassim University in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among medical students at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the targeted medical students either online or by hard copy. The questionnaire consisted of basic demographic data, knowledge toward the transmission, risk factors, preventive behavioral approaches toward COVID-19, and indicators to measure the acceptance toward COVID-19 vaccination. All statistical analyses were carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21.
Results: A total of 317 medical students were recruited. The most common age group was 24-26 years (39.7%), with the majority being male (79.2%), and approximately 40% were in the fifth year. The incidence of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination was 68.8%, 11.1% were against it, and 19.9% were hesitant. In the multivariate regression model, a moderate to a lot attitude that COVID-19 vaccination can protect them from getting the virus and important to very important that getting COVID-19 vaccination would protect the community's health were the significant independent predictors of acceptance to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.
Conclusion: The majority of medical students expressed their willingness to get vaccinated to protect them from the virus once it is available. However, some of them were hesitant or were against it.
Key words: COVID-19, vaccination, medical students, acceptance, knowledge.
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