Vaccine hesitancy: Beliefs and barriers associated with COVID‐19 vaccination among Egyptian medical students

Saied, Shimaa M.; Saied, Eman M.; Kabbash, Ibrahim Ali; Abdo, Sanaa Abd El‐Fatah

BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy poses serious challenges for achieving coverage for population immunity. It is necessary to achieve high COVID‐19 vaccination acceptance rates and medical students’ coverage as future health care providers. The study aimed to explore the level of COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy and determine the factors and barriers that may affect vaccination decision‐making. METHODS: A cross‐sectional study was carried out among medical students in Tanta and Kafrelsheikh Universities, Egypt. Data collection was done via an online questionnaire during January 2021 from 2133 students. RESULTS: The majority of the participant students (90.5%) perceived the importance of the COVID‐19 vaccine, 46% had vaccination hesitancy, and an equal percentage (6%) either definitely accepted or refused the vaccine. Most of the students had concerns regarding the vaccine's adverse effects (96.8%) and ineffectiveness (93.2%). The most confirmed barriers of COVID‐19 vaccination were deficient data regarding the vaccine's adverse effects (potential 74.17% and unknown 56.31%) and insufficient information regarding the vaccine itself (72.76%). CONCLUSION: The government, health authority decision‐makers, medical experts, and universities in Egypt need to work together and make efforts to reduce hesitancy and raise awareness about vaccinations, consequently improving the acceptance of COVID‐19 vaccines.