To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate—Reasons of Willingness and Reluctance of Students against SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination—An International Experience

Ryszard Sitarz, Alicja Forma (), Kaja Karakuła (), Dariusz Juchnowicz, Jacek Baj, Jacek Bogucki, Joanna Rog, Michael L. Tee, Cherica A. Tee, Josefina T. Ly-Uson, Md. Saiful Islam, Md. Tajuddin Sikder, Ahmed Hashem El-Monshed, Ahmed Loutfy, Muhammad Fazal Hussain Qureshi, Munib Abbas, Shafaq Taseen, Mahira Lakhani, Cuiyan Wang, Xiaoyang Wan, Yilin Tan, Riyu Pan, Roger Ho, Saikarthik Jayakumar, Saraswathi Ilango, Senthil Kumar, Ángel A. Ruiz-Chow, Adriana Iturbide, David D. González-Mille, Linh Phuong Doan and Hanna Karakuła-Juchnowicz
Additional contact information
Ryszard Sitarz: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Alicja Forma: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Kaja Karakuła: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Dariusz Juchnowicz: Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Nursing, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Jacek Baj: Department of Anatomy, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Jacek Bogucki: Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Joanna Rog: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Michael L. Tee: College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila 1000, Philippines
Cherica A. Tee: College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila 1000, Philippines
Josefina T. Ly-Uson: College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila 1000, Philippines
Md. Saiful Islam: Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh
Md. Tajuddin Sikder: Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh
Ahmed Hashem El-Monshed: Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35511, Egypt
Ahmed Loutfy: Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62521, Egypt
Muhammad Fazal Hussain Qureshi: Medical College, Ziauddin Medical University, Saharah-e-Ghalib, Clifton, Karachi 75600, Pakistan
Munib Abbas: Department of Medicine, Karachi Medical and Dental College, North Nazimabad, Karachi 74700, Pakistan
Shafaq Taseen: Department of Medicine, Karachi Medical and Dental College, North Nazimabad, Karachi 74700, Pakistan
Mahira Lakhani: Medical College, Ziauddin Medical University, Saharah-e-Ghalib, Clifton, Karachi 75600, Pakistan
Cuiyan Wang: Faculty of Education, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China
Xiaoyang Wan: Faculty of Education, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China
Yilin Tan: Faculty of Education, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China
Riyu Pan: Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, China
Roger Ho: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore
Saikarthik Jayakumar: Department of Basic Medical Science and Department of Medical Education, College of Dentistry, Al Zulfi, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Saraswathi Ilango: Madha Medical College and Research Institute, Kovoor, Chennai 600128, India
Senthil Kumar: Madha Medical College and Research Institute, Kovoor, Chennai 600128, India
Ángel A. Ruiz-Chow: Centro Médico ABC, Mexico City 05348, Mexico
Adriana Iturbide: Centro Médico ABC, Mexico City 05348, Mexico
David D. González-Mille: Centro Médico ABC, Mexico City 05348, Mexico
Linh Phuong Doan: Duy Tan University, 254 Nguyen Van Linh, Danang 550000, Vietnam
Hanna Karakuła-Juchnowicz: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-20

Abstract: Despite the vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being reported to be safe and effective, the unwillingness to vaccinate and doubts are still common. The aim of this international study was to assess the major reasons for the unwillingness to vaccinate in a group of students from Poland (n = 1202), Bangladesh (n = 1586), India (n = 484), Mexico (n = 234), Egypt (n = 566), Philippines (n = 2076), Pakistan (n = 506), Vietnam (n = 98) and China (n = 503). We conducted an online cross-sectional study that aimed to assess (1) the percentage of vaccinated and unvaccinated students and (2) the reasons associated with willingness/unwillingness to the vaccine. The study included 7255 respondents from 9 countries with a mean age of 21.85 ± 3.66 years. Only 22.11% (n = 1604) of students were vaccinated. However, the majority (69.25%, n = 5025) expressed a willingness to be vaccinated. More willing to vaccinate were students in informal relationships who worked mentally, used psychological/psychiatric services before the pandemic, and studied medicine. There are cultural differences regarding the reasons associated with the unwillingness to vaccinate, but some ‘universal’ might be distinguished that apply to the whole group.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccine; pandemic; students; psychological and psychiatric support; supplements; influenza (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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