Hesitation and Acceptance of Vaccines Among Students of Health Colleges in the Tabuk Area: Have The COVID-19 Pandemic and Vaccinations Efforts Aggravated the Issue?
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Abstract
Introduction: Vaccines are one of the pillars of the current medical care worldwide. COVID19 pandemic and the subsequent vaccinations campaigns had a complex impact on vaccine hesitancy. In this study we aimed to explore the level of hesitation and acceptance of vaccines among the medical students at the University of Tabuk. Methods: This is a questionnaire based cross sectional study. The questionnaire was available online for data collection in the time period from October 20 2023 to 31 March 2024. Results: Students from a wide range of medical specialties participated in this study. Although most of the students (93.5%) believed that vaccines are protective some potential barriers have been identified and included insufficiency of information, and believes in conspiracy. There is increasing mistrust in the vaccines manufacturers as 27.9% of the participants agreed to this notion. Large number of the students (39.4%) said they know families that do not vaccinate their kids. A 34% of all participants acknowledged that following the pandemic, they became skeptical about getting vaccinations. Conclusion: Negative views among medical students can compromise patient care. We must equip students with skills that help them identify misinformation and ability to convey it to their surroundings and to the patients.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Rehab Ahmed, Ohod S Alshehri, Shroog F Alshammari, Kadi M Alharbi, Kadi M Alharbi, Ehab Ahmed Frah, Nehal Elsherbiny
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons License All articles published in Annals of Medicine and Medical Sciences are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Ohod S Alshehri, PharmD Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
PharmD Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Shroog F Alshammari, PharmD Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
PharmD Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Kadi M Alharbi, PharmD Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
PharmD Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Ehab Ahmed Frah, Statistics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Statistics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Nehal Elsherbiny, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
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