Vaccines (Sep 2021)

“Vaccinate, Do Not Hesitate!”. Vaccination Readiness against COVID-19 among Polish Nursing Undergraduate Students: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

  • Joanna Gotlib,
  • Tomasz Sobierajski,
  • Mariusz Jaworski,
  • Dominik Wawrzuta,
  • Ewa Borowiak,
  • Beata Dobrowolska,
  • Danuta Dyk,
  • Aleksandra Gaworska-Krzemińska,
  • Elżbieta Grochans,
  • Maria Kózka,
  • Halina Kulik,
  • Jolanta Lewko,
  • Grażyna Nowak-Starz,
  • Małgorzata Wojciechowska,
  • Izabella Uchmanowicz,
  • Mariusz Panczyk

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9091029
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 9
p. 1029

Abstract

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COVID-19 vaccination raises numerous concerns among the public, and also among medical personnel including nurses. As nurses play a crucial role in the process of vaccination, it is important to recognize the attitudes of students of nursing, nurses in spe, toward COVID-19 vaccination, as well as to define the factors influencing students’ pro-vaccine choices. The study was conducted between March and April 2021 at all medical universities in Poland educating nurses in spe. The study included 793 first-degree students from 12 universities. The results revealed that the vast majority of students of nursing (77.2%) were vaccinated against COVID-19, as 61.2% received an mRNA vaccine and 16% a viral vector vaccine. Every other person in the non-vaccinated group declared their intention to get a vaccination. A trend was observed whereby people co-living with persons from the risk group, who are at risk of a severe form of COVID-19, showed greater willingness to get a vaccine. The study results identified the role of universities in increasing the vaccination rate among students, both in terms of education about vaccinations and in shaping pro-vaccine attitudes among students, as well as organizing vaccinations on university campuses to facilitate the process.

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