Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude on Covid-19 Vaccines among Students of Various Health Care Professionals in India- A Cross Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background: Vaccinations have been considered as the most reliable lifesaving tool to control spreading of infectious diseases during pandemics. A significant number of corona virus disease (COVID-19) vaccinated individuals have demonstrated very good efficacy in randomized clinical trials. It is essential that students at health care professional levels are provided with adequate knowledge to inculcate positive attitudes and appropriate practices towards COVID19 vaccines. Aim: The present study was aimed to assess the knowledge, awareness and attitude on Covid-19 vaccines among students in health care profession across the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Methods: A cross sectional questionnaire-based online-survey was conducted through Google forms among the health care professional students across Tamilnadu. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS version 22.0) was used to analyze the statistical data. The p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the total health care professionals (HCPs), 108 answered the survey. The mean age of participants was 22.19 years (SD 2.30), and 74 (68.5%) were female. Among the respondents, 101 (93.5%) were familiar with COVID-19 vaccine and 93 (86.1%) admits it is necessary to know vaccination status of their patient before commencing any clinical procedure. Though 86 HCPs (80.18%) had adequate knowledge regarding COVID-19 vaccines 46 (42.5%) were unsure of method of production of vaccines as well as interval period suggested between 2 doses of vaccines (37.9%) and time take for antibody production after second dose (59.25%). 26.8% HCPs showed lack of interest while 39.8% admitted fear of vaccine side effects as reasons for refraining from getting vaccinated. The majority of the subjects (74.53%) had a positive attitude and good practice awareness toward COVID-19 vaccination.  Conclusion: Besides appropriate education framework and evidence-based studies, more research could further explore the possible association between profession and vaccination willingness and behavior.