Factors associated with acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among University health sciences students in Northwest Nigeria

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 16; no. 11; p. e0260672
• Main Authors: Mustapha, Mohammed, Lawal, Basira Kankia, Sha'aban, Abubakar, Jatau, Abubakar Ibrahim, Wada, Abubakar Sadiq, Bala, Auwal Adam, Mustapha, Sagir, Haruna, Anas, Musa, Abbas, Ahmad, Mubarak Hussaini, Iliyasu, Salim, Muhammad, Surajuddeen, Mohammed, Fatima Zaji, Ahmed, Ahmed Danbala, Zainal, Hadzliana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 29.11.2021; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Behavior; Biology and Life Sciences; Colleges & universities; Confidence intervals; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; COVID-19 Vaccines - immunology; Epidemics; Female; Health aspects; Health risks; Health sciences; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Medical students; Medicine and Health Sciences; Multivariate Analysis; Nigeria - epidemiology; Pandemics; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; People and Places; Pharmaceutical sciences; Pharmacology; Pharmacy; Polls & surveys; Research and Analysis Methods; Respiratory diseases; Risk Factors; Risk perception; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Social aspects; Statistical analysis; Students; Surveys; Universities; Vaccination; Vaccines; Young Adult; Nigeria; Kano Nigeria; Malaysia
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260672

Students of the health sciences are the future frontliners to fight pandemics. The students' participation in COVID-19 response varies across countries and are mostly for educational purposes. Understanding the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptability is necessary for a successful vaccination program. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among health sciences students in Northwest Nigeria. The study was an online self-administered cross-sectional study involving a survey among students of health sciences in some selected universities in Northwest Nigeria. The survey collected pertinent data from the students, including socio-demographic characteristics, risk perception for COVID-19, and willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. A total of 440 responses with a median (interquartile range) age of 23 (4.0) years were included in the study. The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was 40.0%. Factors that independently predict acceptance of the vaccine were age of 25 years and above (adjusted odds ratio, aOR, 2.72; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.44-5.16; p = 0.002), instructions from heads of institutions (aOR, 11.71; 95% CI, 5.91-23.20; p<0.001), trust in the government (aOR, 20.52; 95% CI, 8.18-51.51; p<0.001) and willingness to pay for the vaccine (aOR, 7.92; 95% CI, 2.63-23.85; p<0.001). The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among students of health sciences was low. Older age, mandate by heads of the institution, trust in the government and readiness to pay for the vaccine were associated with acceptance of the vaccine. Therefore, stakeholders should prioritize strategies that would maximize the vaccination uptake.