Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccine and reasons for adherence or not among nursing students

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread widely among healthcare workers. Recently, new effective vaccines against COVID-19 have begun to be administered to healthcare workers in several countries, including Italy.

Our aim was to evaluate the intentions to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in a population of nursing students, identifying factors associated with the intentions.

We conducted an anonymous online survey among 728 nursing students. The questionnaire collected data on demographic and academic characteristics, health status, vaccine attitudes, and specific reasons regarding the intention to get or not get the COVID-19 vaccination.

A total of 422 nursing students completed the survey. Almost 81% of participants wanted to take the vaccine against coronavirus. The intention to adhere to the vaccination program was associated with male gender, a previous flu vaccine uptake, and high school education. The main reason in favor of taking the vaccine was to protect family and friends. The main reason for opposition was the fear of adverse events.

It is fundamental to consider vaccine hesitancy in healthcare students and face it properly, since these are the healthcare workers of the future who will have to provide recommendations to patients and promote adherence to vaccination programs.