COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Associated Factors Among College Students in Dessie City, Northeastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background

The COVID-19 vaccine is regarded as an effective measure for reducing the pandemic’s impact. But, COVID-19 disease burden reduction efforts are being affected by the rising vaccine resistance.

Objective

To assess the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and associated factors among college students in Dessie city, Northeastern Ethiopia.

Methods

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out among college students in Dessie town from July 1–20, 2021. The association between independent and dependent variables was assessed by binary logistic regression analysis using crude odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio. Variables having p values of less than 0.05 at the 95% confidence interval were regarded as potential determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Results

A total of 422 college students participated in the study with a response rate of 95.6%. More than half 226 (56.2%) of the participants had willingness to accept COVID-19 vaccine. Respondents who had history of chronic medical illness (AOR: 4.340, 95% CI: 1.166, 16.149), training on COVID-19 vaccine (AOR: 4.755, 95% CI: 2.606, 6.674), history of regular vaccine uptake (AOR: 2.534, 95% CI: 1.412, 4.549), perception of COVID-19 severity (AOR: 4.109, 95% CI: 2.190, 7.710), perception that COVID-19 can be prevented by vaccine (AOR: 2.420, 95% CI: 1.160, 5.049), and development of herd immunity against COVID-19 vaccines (AOR: 2.566, 95% CI: 1.431, 4.599) were factors significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Conclusion

The acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among college students was low. The history of chronic medical illness, training on COVID-19 vaccine, history of vaccine uptake, perception that COVID-19 can be prevented by vaccine, perception of herd immunity development against COVID-19, and severity of COVID 19 infection were factors significantly associated with the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine. Hence, it is necessary to promote COVID-19 vaccination among college students through health education and vaccine outreach.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• vaccine
• acceptance
• college students
• Ethiopia

Abbreviations

AOR, adjusted odds ratio; COR, crude odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; COVID-19, Corona virus disease 2019; LMIC, low- and middle-income country; SARS COV-2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome COV 2; UAE, United Aram Emirate; USA, United States of America; WHO, World Health Organization.

Data Sharing Statement

The corresponding authors will provide the datasets used and/or analyzed during the current work upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgment

We are grateful to the college students who participated in the study.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.