Romanian Medical Students’ Attitude towards and Perceived Knowledge on COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract

In Romania, the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign prioritized medical personnel, which included healthcare students. This study aimed to assess their knowledge, attitudes towards, and perception of COVID-19 vaccination. An anonymous, single-answer, 42-item online survey was conducted from 12 January until 3 March 2021, in the country’s largest University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Among the 1581 respondents (14.9% response rate), 88.5% were pro-vaccination, 7.8% were undecided, and 3.7% were vaccine resistant. The main reason for vaccine rejection was the perceived speed of vaccine development (strong agreement among the vaccine resistant, moderate agreement among the undecided, p p p p < 0.001). Healthcare students can thus serve as important vectors for scientifically sound information, influencing vaccine uptake in the community.

Keywords

• COVID-19 vaccination
• medical students
• SARS CoV-2 vaccine
• vaccine hesitancy