Knowledge, beliefs and hesitancy among medical and non-medical university students toward COVID-19 vaccination in Punjab, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the knowledge, beliefs, and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccination among medical (MS) and nonmedical students (NMS) in Punjab, Pakistan. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted by enrolling 624 MS and 476 NMS in the largest province of Pakistan, i.e., Punjab. Chi-square tests were used to determine significant frequency distributions, and logistic regression to determine associations. The majority of students, males and females, were between 18–25 years of age and had good self-reported health. MS demonstrated adequate knowledge and positive beliefs about COVID-19. Fewer MS were indecisive about the vaccination; nonetheless, overall, 71.5% of MS and 78.2% of NMS were willing to receive the vaccine. A greater number of MS students were concerned about vaccine safety or side effects. A greater number of NMS demonstrated misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccine – its effect on fertility and alterations in genomic DNA. The binary logistics regression exhibited a significant association between students’ knowledge in the medical sciences (OR;1.53,p = 0.002) and area of residence (OR;1.60,p = 0.008). Compared to NMS, MS had a better understanding of the COVID-19 vaccine and were concerned about the acceptability of the vaccine, although NMS had misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Knowledge was significantly associated with the field of study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contribution

M.N: Conceptualization; methodology; questionnaire development; data collection; data entry; data analysis and interpretation; drafting the article; review and editing. K.A: Methodology; questionnaire development; data collection; drafting the article; review and editing. A.B: Conceptualization; methodology; questionnaire development. H.R. and M.R.: Questionnaire corrections and formal review of this article. M.F.R. and M. I: provided resources, edited the manuscript, helped in data collection, H. S: Questionnaire validation; critical data analysis and interpretation; statistical analysis; critical revisions of the article; Discussion of this article. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

No funds were secured or available for this study.