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. 2022 Apr 29:15:845-864.
doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S360274. eCollection 2022.

Chinese University Students' Awareness and Acceptance of the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Cross-Sectional Study

Shirui Li  1 , Zhihui Gao  1 , Meihan Zhong  1 , Zhujun Yu  1 , Jianan Li  2 , Haoran Bi  1   3   4
Affiliations

Chinese University Students' Awareness and Acceptance of the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Cross-Sectional Study

Shirui Li et al. Risk Manag Healthc Policy. .

Abstract

Purpose: The emergence of the mutant virus has exacerbated the COVID-19 epidemic, and vaccines remain an effective and viable means of resistance. As a socially influential young group, university students' awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine are crucial to achieving herd immunity. This study aimed to assess the awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among Chinese university students and identify possible factors associated with their awareness level and vaccine hesitancy.

Patients and methods: An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese university students between 10 and 28 June 2021. We collected information on the demographic characteristics, awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine, and influencing factors. Sleep disturbances and anxiety disorders were also evaluated. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results: Among the 721 participants (aged 18 to 23 years) with a female predominance (68.9%), 40.4% of cases exhibited moderate awareness the COVID-19 vaccine, and 87.4% of cases expressed high acceptance of the vaccine. Participants' awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine was associated with gender, ethnicity, region of residence, grade level, satisfaction with current state of pandemic control, the perceived likelihood of a COVID-19 pandemic rebound, the source number of COVID-19 information, concerns about differences in vaccine manufacturers, acceptance of current state-approved vaccines and insomnia level. Furthermore, age, preferred channels for vaccination and the acceptance of current state-approved vaccines were significantly associated with their acceptance of the vaccine.

Conclusion: This study reflected Chinese university students' high acceptance, but insufficient awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine, some students have insomnia and anxiety problems. These require the government to take measures such as individualized publicity and education, adding professional psychological counseling courses to improve the university students' awareness of vaccines and public health events, and comprehensively promote vaccination to cope with the ever-changing situation of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; mental health; university students; vaccine hesitancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of participants. The figure describes the composition of the participants and the eventual inclusion and exclusion process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The distribution of factors that may affect participants’ acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. The figure shows the proportion of participants who choose to be affected by this specific factor, and each factor was treated as a binary outcome (did matter or did not matter).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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