Vaccination of health professionals, including those in training, is crucial for population protection, especially in the face of emerging infectious risks. Health care students constitute a population that is potentially exposed to viruses and may pass them on, but also plays a major role as future prescribers. Despite the importance of this topic, there is little research on vaccine hesitancy within this population.

The purpose of this literature review was to collect, organize, and analyze the existing data on vaccine hesitancy among health care students worldwide, and the factors associated with it.

Nineteen articles were included in the analysis. There was no consensus on the definition of vaccine hesitancy. Depending on the study, estimates of vaccine hesitancy among health care students for all vaccinations as a whole ranged from 6.7% to 80.2%. One of the main factors associated with vaccine hesitancy identified by the study was doubt, fear, anxiety, or expressed statements about a lack of vaccine safety, with concern about vaccine-induced adverse events. Vaccine hesitancy was higher for emerging infections (such as COVID-19 and H1N1). It also depended on the country and course of study.

To address the current challenge of vaccination among health care students, qualitative exploration of vaccine hesitancy is essential. This requires more detailed exploration of the sociocultural and professional contexts related to this hesitancy, as well as a more in-depth description of teaching on vaccination across disciplines.