Vaccination Intention against the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Pregnant women are at an increased risk of hospitalisation, admission to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, and death from SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of this study is to determine the predictive factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake during pregnancy over time in a population with a high background uptake of maternal influenza and pertussis vaccination. Methods: This is a population-based, cohort study of all pregnant women who gave birth in Victoria, Australia between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. Data from the Victorian Perinatal Data Collection were analysed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Results: This study reports on 77,719 women who gave birth over a 12 month period, of whom 49,281 (63.4%) received a COVID-19 vaccine, 54,887 (70.6%) received an influenza vaccination and 63,594 (81.8%) received a pertussis vaccine by the time of delivery. Pregnant women aged >30 years (aOR 1.31 CI 1.27, 1.36), who had >=8 antenatal visits (aOR 1.08 CI 1.04, 1.12), and those who received influenza vaccine (aOR 1.23 CI 1.19, 1.28) were more likely to have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Those who smoked (aOR 0.7 CI 0.66, 0.74), were First Nations (aOR 0.83 CI 0.74, 0.93) and those who gave birth in public hospitals (aOR 0.65 CI 0.63, 0.68) were less likely to receive COVID-19 vaccine in the first 12 months of the rollout. Conclusion: Maternal age, smoking, parity and Indigenous status were factors associated with delayed and sustained lower coverage, even in a population with background maternal influenza and pertussis coverage of 70.6% and 81.8%, respectively. Full article

Many studies identified factors associated with vaccination intention and hesitancy, but factors associated with vaccination promptness and the effect of vaccination intention on vaccination promptness are unknown. This study identified factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination promptness and evaluated the role of vaccination intention on vaccination promptness in 1223 participants in a community-based longitudinal cohort study (June 2020 to December 2021). Participants answered questions regarding COVID-19 vaccination intention, vaccination status, and reasons for not receiving a vaccine. The association of baseline vaccine hesitancy with vaccination was assessed by the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Follow-up analyses tested the importance of other variables predicting vaccination using the Cox proportional hazards model. Older age was associated with shorter time to vaccination (HR = 1.76 [1.37–2.25] 85-year-old versus 65-year-old). Lower education levels (HR = 0.80 [0.69–0.92]), household incomes (HR = 0.84 [0.72–0.98]), and baseline vaccination intention of ‘No’ (HR = 0.16 [0.11–0.23]) were associated with longer times to vaccination. The most common reasons for not being vaccinated (N = 58) were vaccine safety concerns (n = 33), side effects (n = 28), and vaccine effectiveness (n = 25). Vaccination campaigns that target populations prone to hesitancy and address vaccine safety and effectiveness could be helpful in future vaccination rollouts. Full article

Childhood vaccination is crucial to protect young children from harmful infectious diseases. This study aimed to investigate the recent childhood immunization rate of recommended and additional vaccinations and identify the factors affecting the vaccination uptake of young children in Hong Kong. The self-administrated questionnaires were distributed to parents of toddlers aged 2 to 5. They were asked to provide information on (1) socioeconomic demographic factors; (2) experiences during pregnancy; and (3) the medical history of the toddler. A total of 1799 responses were collected. Children were more likely to be fully vaccinated when they were at a younger age (aOR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.48–0.78, p < 0.001), the first child in the family (aOR second-born = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.48–0.81, p < 0.001; aOR third-born = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.19–0.55, p < 0.001), had a higher household income (aOR HKD 15,000–HKD 29,999 = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.27–2.55, p = 0.001; aOR ≥ HKD 30,000 = 3.42, 95% CI: 2.39–4.90, p < 0.001; compared with <HKD 15,000), or with mothers in older age groups (aOR 35–39 years old = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.22–4.93, p = 0.012; aOR ≥ 40 = 2.90, 95% CI = 1.24–6.77, p = 0.014; compared with ≤ age 24). The uptake of any additional vaccination was 71%. Children who were older (aOR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.02–1.70, p = 0.036), the first child in the family (aOR second-born = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.56–0.99, p = 0.043; aOR third-born = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.32–0.96, p = 0.034), with higher household income (aOR ≥ HKD 30,000 = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.10–2.37, p = 0.016), were exposed to second-hand smoke from the father (aOR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.08–2.07, p = 0.016), experienced hospitalization (twice or more—aOR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.04–1.99, p = 0.027), or were fully vaccinated (aOR: 2.76, 95% CI: 2.12–3.60, p < 0.001) were associated with a higher chance of taking an additional vaccine. To encourage the vaccination rate, more attention should be given to families with more children, low-income families, and younger mothers. Full article

Background: The emergence of COVID-19 has been a major challenge to public health and the world economy. During a wave of COVID-19, the usage of widespread vaccination procedures and broader coverage to the whole of humanity will be made possible if the general population has access. An intended effect of vaccination is to provide “herd immunity,” which protects those who have not been vaccinated along with those who have been. However, some concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines were raised. Aim: This study aims to provide evidence on the short-term safety and efficacy of four types of vaccines that are officially approved by the Ministry of Health in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These include Sinopharm, Sputnik V, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca. Method: This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. Data on the efficacy and short-term protection of COVID-19 vaccines on vaccinated citizens and residents (n = 764) of the UAE were collected between February and April 2021. Participants were conveniently approached using a Google Forms survey, where they responded to a semi-structured questionnaire pertaining to socio-demographic questions and in-depth questions related to COVID-19, including whether they suffer from any comorbidities, the most commonly encountered post-vaccination side effects, and the severity of their symptoms, using a 5-point Likert scale. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 24, calculations of p-values and descriptive statistics were used for data differentiation. Results: The majority of the participants (n = 612 or 94.4%) stated that they did not become reinfected after receiving two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, the incidence of being hospitalized after vaccination was negligible. In terms of adverse effects, the most common individually reported side effects, regardless of the vaccination type, included “pain at the site of injection”, followed by “general fatigue”, then “lethargy”. Moreover, most of these side effects occurred after the second dose of the vaccine, irrespective of the type of vaccine. Females were found to be more susceptible to the adversities of COVID-19 vaccination. The occurrence of side effects was not found to be related to the nationality/ethnicity of the vaccine recipient. Furthermore, none of the vaccines affected sleep pattern, since a significant number of respondents reported a regular sleep pattern after being vaccinated. The majority respondents who received two doses of vaccination (n = 585 or 76.6%) reported that they did not become infected post vaccination, regardless the type of vaccine received, whereas only (n = 11 or 1.9%) were reinfected with COVID-19 after 2–4 weeks. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that vaccines can offer short-term protection against COVID-19 reinfection. Moreover, both the first- and second-vaccination side effects were described as very mild to moderate, which indicates tolerability. These data may strengthen the public confidence in receiving vaccinations. Full article

Introduction: The vaccination of children against Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a prime area of focus around the globe and is considered a pivotal challenge during the ongoing pandemic. This study aimed to assess parents′ intentions to vaccinate their children and the barriers related to pediatric COVID-19 vaccination. Methodology: An online web-based survey was conducted to recruit parents with at least one child under the age of 12 years from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jouf region. The parental intentions to vaccinate children were assessed via six items, while barriers against vaccination were assessed through seven items in validated study instrument. A 5-point Likert scale was used to record the responses of parents regarding both their intentions and barriers. Results: In total, 444 parents (28.41 ± 7.4 years, 65% females) participated in this study. Almost 90% of parents were vaccinated against COVID-19 but only 42% of parents intended to vaccinate their children. The mean intention score was 2.9 ± 1.36. More than one-third of study participants had no plan to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. The majority of the respondents agreed to vaccinate their children if vaccination was made compulsory by the government (relative index: 0.76, 73%). Out of seven potential barriers analyzed, concerns over vaccine safety and side effects were ranked highest (RII: 0.754), reported by 290 (65%) participants. In multivariate logistic regression, significant predictors of parental intention to vaccinate children were the increased education level of the parents (secondary education: OR = 3.617, p = 0.010; tertiary education: OR = 2.775, p = 0.042), COVID-19 vaccination status (vaccinated: OR = 7.062, p = 0.003), mother’s involvement in decisions regarding the child’s healthcare (mother: OR 4.353, p < 0.001; both father and mother: OR 3.195, p < 0.001) and parents’ trust in the vaccine’s safety (OR = 2.483, p = 0.022). Conclusions: This study underscored the low intention among parents to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Vaccination intention was found to be associated with education, parents’ vaccination status, the mother’s involvement in healthcare decisions, and parents’ trust in the vaccine’s safety. On the other hand, parents’ concerns over the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine were widely reported as barriers to childhood vaccination. The health authorities should focus on addressing parental concerns about vaccines to improve their COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Full article

COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among healthcare workers (HCWs) is very important to control the pandemic and to ensure the safety of HCWs and patients. As psychological factors may affect the decision to be vaccinated, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of psychological factors on vaccination acceptance in different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study using a web-based survey was conducted among HCWs in Slovenia at the beginning of the pandemic (N = 851), one month later (N = 86), and one year later (N = 145) when vaccines were already available. The results showed that the influence of psychological factors (anxiety, psychological burden, perceived infectability, and germ aversion) was specific for each survey period. At the beginning of the pandemic, vaccination intention was positively associated with anxiety. In the third survey period, anxiety was not exposed as a predictive factor for vaccination intention. However, comparison of vaccination status among groups with different levels of anxiety revealed an interesting distinction within those in favour of vaccination; in the group with minimal levels of anxiety, there was a relatively high share of respondents that were already vaccinated, whereas in the group with severe anxiety, most individuals intended to be vaccinated but hesitated to take action. Full article

COVID-19 is associated with poor maternal and pregnancy outcomes. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended in Spain, yet vaccination rates in pregnancy are suboptimal. This study investigates the perceptions of pregnant women and healthcare workers (HCW) regarding COVID-19 vaccination. A web-based cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in 2021–2022 among 302 pregnant women and 309 HCWs in the Catalan public health system. Most pregnant women (83%) and HCWs (86%) were aware of COVID-19 maternal vaccines. The recommendation of the COVID-19 vaccination by an HCW was identified as the greatest facilitator for maternal vaccine uptake, while the fear of harming the foetus was the most significant barrier reported for rejecting vaccination. HCWs recognised they received limited information and training about COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, which hindered them from providing informed recommendations. This study highlights that information and education on COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant women and health professionals are pivotal to ensuring informed decision-making and increasing vaccine uptake. Full article

The current study used data surveyed with 5357 parents/guardians (parents would be used to represent both ‘parents’ and ‘guardians’ hereafter) between February and March 2022 in Vietnam to examine their willingness to vaccinate their children with current COVID-19 vaccines. It applied the multinomial logistic regression model to examine the association between the willingness of parents and selected influential factors. In addition, the reasons that made parent hesitant or unwilling to vaccinate their children were investigated. Moreover, it identified parents’ preferences for vaccine origins. Approximately, 75.4% of the parents were willing, 21.3% were hesitant and 3.3% were unwilling to vaccinate their children. The most common reasons that made the parents hesitant or unwilling to vaccinate their children were their concerns about the vaccine safety, efficacy and immunity. The most and the second most preferred vaccines were those developed/originated in the US and EU, respectively. Parents who were more likely to vaccinate their children included those whose children were insured, who regularly vaccinated their children, who belonged to the vaccine priority groups, who possessed sufficient knowledge about the ways to prevent the virus or about the herd immunity, and who perceived that their children might be infected with the virus and whose children were afraid of needles. Parents who were less likely to vaccinate their children included those who were the family main income source, who had savings, and who had tertiary education or higher. Full article

Several vaccines have been developed for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination intention. A global survey was conducted across 26 countries from October, 2020 to December, 2021 using an online self-administered questionnaire. Demographic information, socio-economic status, and clinical information were collected. A logistic regression examined the associations between vaccine intention and factors such as perceptions and the presence of chronic physical and mental conditions. The sample included 2459 participants, with 384 participants (15.7%) expressing lower COVID-19 vaccination intent. Individuals who identified as female; belonged to an older age group; had a higher level of education; were students; had full health insurance coverage; or had a previous history of influenza vaccination were more willing to receive vaccination. Conversely, those who were working part-time, were self-employed, or were receiving social welfare were less likely to report an intention to get vaccinated. Participants with mental or physical health conditions were more unwilling to receive vaccination, especially those with sickle cell disease, cancer history within the past five years, or mental illness. Stronger vaccination intent was associated with recommendations from the government or family doctors. The presence of chronic conditions was associated with lower vaccine intention. Individuals with health conditions are especially vulnerable to health complications and may experience an increased severity of COVID-19 symptoms. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of interventions targeting the vaccine perceptions and behaviours of at-risk groups. As such, public awareness campaigns conducted by the government and proactive endorsement from health physicians may help improve COVID-19 vaccination intention. Full article

Background: Patients with cancer show greater susceptibility and vulnerability to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. However, data on the vaccination status among patients with breast cancer and any structured analysis of the factors influencing patients’ decisions regarding vaccines are lacking. Methods: This cross-sectional study on patients with breast cancer in China was conducted from 1 June 2022, to 17 June 2022. Every participant completed an online questionnaire about their vaccination status and any adverse reactions, and a scale based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) to assess the vaccination status of respondents and their willingness to receive following doses or boosters. Results: Among the 1132 participants, 55.2% had received a COVID-19 vaccine. The incidence of adverse events per dose was around 40%. Vaccine hesitancy of 61.9% was observed among patients who had not fully received three doses of vaccine or boosters. The only variable found to be associated with vaccine hesitancy was time since diagnosis (p < 0.05). In the HBM scale, vaccine hesitancy was closely related to a low level of perceived susceptibility, a low level of perceived benefit, a high level of perceived barriers and a low level of agreement with doctors’ advice. Conclusions: For patients with breast cancer, perceived susceptibility, benefits and barriers should be prioritized, and the advice from authoritative doctors is a vital cue to action. Full article

Introduction: COVID-19 is considered the greatest health disaster affecting humans during the 21st century, which urged the need to develop an effective vaccine to acquire enough immunity against the virus. The main challenge faced during the development of such vaccines was the insufficiency of time, which raised the question about the vaccine safety and efficacy, especially among children. Parents’ and caregivers’ thoughts and acceptance of administering the vaccine to their children are still debatable topics and are yet to be explored in the UAE. Aims: The study aims to exploit parent acceptance, perception, and hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine administration for their children and the link with their choice of distance learning instead of face-to-face education in the UAE. Methodology: This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. A sample of 1049 parents across all emirates were conveniently approached and surveyed using Google forms from June to September 2021. The participants responded to a semi-structured questionnaire pertaining to socio-demographic, educational, and other questions related to COVID-19 and its link with their beliefs in whether the vaccination of their children will help with resuming face-to-face learning. Results: Approximately 74% of the parents confirmed that their children who are 16 years old and above have received the vaccine, and 71% were willing to give the vaccine to their children aged above 5 years. Parents with children receiving online education and those with children where the online modality of learning negatively affected their academic achievement are more prone to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to their children above five years old. The results show a significant association between vaccination of children and the parental desire for resuming physical attendance in schools (p value < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that the highest acceptance rate was from parents with children of low academic achievement due to online learning modality during the pandemic. Conclusion: In the UAE, parents of young children have shown a positive attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination in belief that vaccines will reduce the risk of infection and assist in resuming normal lifestyles, such as going back physically to schools. The results reflect the public awareness and the hypervigilance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the UAE. Full article

Vaccination is a vital component in the battle against outbreaks of infectious diseases. Recognizing parents’ reluctance to vaccinate their children is even more critical now, given the ongoing threat of a COVID-19 pandemic. Conspiracy theories, vaccination safety concerns, parental efficacy and risk perception, and a lack of confidence in science all influence intention. To investigate how these variables interact with vaccination behavior against COVID-19, we developed a model with psychosocial factors serving as the predictor and mistrust in science and vaccine knowledge serving as the mediator. In order to validate the model, the parents’ intentions regarding their children’s vaccination with COVID-19 were used. The study included 454 Pakistani parents who completed an online questionnaire assessing their intention to vaccinate their children. We analyzed the data using structural equation modeling (SEM). A significant level of vaccine hesitation is due to belief in vaccine conspiracy theories, and vaccine safety concerns were investigated. A surprising correlation exists between risk perception and vaccination intentions, followed by parental self-efficacy. It is significant to note that vaccine knowledge mediated conspiracy beliefs, risk perceptions, and intentions fully but partially mediated parental self-efficacy. Conspiracy theories were mediated by a mistrust in science, while perceptions of risk and vaccine safety were partially mediated. The findings of this research were used to develop sensible policy reforms and public health campaigns to encourage vaccination against both common infections such as measles, human papillomaviruses, or pertussis, and novel diseases such as COVID-19. Full article

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide, particularly in the elderly population. With the implementation of the Government Vaccination Programme (GVP) and the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS), enabling factors and barriers in service provider scheme participation and vaccination uptake were examined in 32 interviews with doctors and 16 interviews with vaccine recipients. Interview data were analysed in NVivo 11.0 with reference to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and the REAIM Framework to develop codes and themes. Barriers to pneumococcal vaccination uptake included concerns on vaccine efficacy and poor understanding of the disease and vaccine schemes, whilst service provider participation was hindered by ill-defined parameters for patient eligibility and time, location, and logistical constraints. Enabling factors to improve intervention implementation were involvement of the government and physicians to encourage participation, clarifying eligibility criteria, and improving individual knowledge of IPD and vaccination schemes. As participation rates in the GVP and VSS remains low in Hong Kong, efforts concentrating on health promotion strategies encouraging pneumococcal vaccination amongst the elderly population are recommended. Full article

This study investigated the intention to get the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and its associated factors among Japanese university students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to May 2021 via an e-learning platform at Akita University. Participants were 1776 graduate and undergraduate students who answered the survey on vaccine intention, the health belief model (HBM), sociodemographic characteristics, and concerns over COVID-19-related situations. Vaccine intention was stratified into active, slightly less, and no intention, and the associated factors were determined using the multinomial logistic regression model. Results showed that 56.7% of students had active intention, followed by slightly less intention (34.5%) and no intention (8.8%). After adjusting for covariates, healthcare course, perceived severity (life-threatening and serious social consequences), and perceived benefits from HBM were significantly associated with active intention, with adjusted odds ratios of 4.02 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.11–7.67), 1.40 (95% CI, 1.16–1.69), 1.23 (95% CI, 1.04–1.46), and 2.03 (95% CI, 1.66–2.49), respectively; perceived barriers (side effect, troublesome, and parent disagreement) were adversely associated with active intention. The public health strategy to improve students’ vaccine uptake requires providing accurate information on vaccine safety and efficacy while removing any barriers to vaccination. Full article

Objectives: enhancing uptake of COVID-19 vaccines is an important tool for managing the pandemic. However, in Hong Kong, the COVID-19 vaccination rate in the general population was unsatisfactory during the early phase of the vaccination program. This two-part study aimed to (i) identify barriers and facilitators to receiving vaccinations, and (ii) develop theoretically-informed implementation strategies for promoting uptake. Methods: in part 1, 45 Hong Kong residents who differed in their willingness to vaccinate (willing (n = 15), were unwilling (n = 15), and were hesitant (n = 15)), were interviewed individually in February 2021. They were invited to express their perceptions of receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. The theoretical domains framework (TDF) was applied to guide the interviews and analyses. Behavioral diagnoses from these findings were then used to develop theoretically-informed implementation strategies in part 2, composed of behavior change techniques (BCTs) informed by the established BCT taxonomy. Results: in part 1, the five main barriers were (i) concerns on severe and long-term side effects; (ii) low confidence in the safety and effectiveness due to concerns of their accelerated development; (iii) unclear information on logistical arrangements of the vaccination program; (iv) insufficient data on safety and effectiveness; and (v) perceived low protection ability conferred by the vaccines. The five main facilitators included (i) healthcare professionals’ recommendations; (ii) news from TV, radio, and newspapers as main sources of trustworthy information; (iii) vaccine-related health education delivered by healthcare professionals; (iv) expectations of resuming to a normal social life; and (v) perceived benefits outweighing risks of mild and short-term side effects. Conclusions: seven implementation strategies were developed in part 2 based on the results above, namely (i) providing trustworthy vaccine-related information and scaling up the promotion; (ii) encouraging healthcare professionals to recommend vaccinations; (iii) giving incentives; (iv) using social influence approaches; (v) allowing a selection of COVID-19 vaccine brands; (vi) increasing accessibility for vaccinations; and (vii) emphasizing social responsibility. Full article

Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are a high-priority group for COVID-19 vaccination for several reasons. Health behavior theory-based studies on the intention or acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among Indonesian HCWs is lacking. Using an integrated behavioral model, this research sought to identify Indonesian health care workers’ intentions to obtain COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A countrywide cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The questionnaire was constructed on the basis of IBM (integrated behavioral model) constructs and scored on a seven-point bipolar scale. A hierarchical multivariable regression was used to evaluate the fit of the predictor model as well as the correlations between variables in the study. Results: 3304 people responded to the survey. A model combining demographic and IBM characteristics predicted 42.5 percent (adjusted R² = 0.42) of the COVID-19 vaccination intention. Vaccination intention was associated with favorable vaccine attitudes, perceived norms, and self-efficacy. Among the determining constructs, behavior belief predicted vaccination intention the best. Being female, being married, having a history of COVID-19 infection, living outside Java Island, and having a low income were all linked to lower vaccination intentions. Conclusions: This study confirms the IBM model’s robustness in predicting health care workers’ intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. Full article

In this study, regression models were created to explain the increase of COVID-19 vaccination rates in 378 Polish sub-regions. In order to trace the factors that could explain the willingness to delay vaccination, vaccination rates were compared for age groups of 20 years and more for 30 June 2020 and 31 January 2021. Initially high vaccination rates, rather than leading to the gradual exhaustion of the pool of those wishing to get vaccinated, were a very good predictor of the share of the remainder willing to do so, which increased the divergence between sub-regions in nominal vaccination rates. Support for Eurosceptic and anti-establishment parties was a strong predictor of persistent vaccine hesitancy. Ideological divergence from the mainstream appeared to reinforce vaccine hesitancy, and this relationship remained highly relevant even when controlling for possible time or spatial lag. Markers of social inclusion and social capital—voter turnout and employment rate—remained statistically significant even when controlling for time lag, thus implying clear relevance of trust in the public message. The share of the population with higher education remained a highly relevant factor as well, though in the 20–39 age bracket it predicted a higher vaccination rate, while in all older brackets it was a negative predictor—this implies that those people had already made up their minds. Delaying vaccination seems predominantly explainable by political views, as well as social exclusion and the historical specificity of sub-regions. On a regional level, there was actually a paradoxical Spearmans Rho correlation (0.641) between the share of population refusing mandatory vaccination for kids and the percentage of people receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, which further undermines the idea that overall observed vaccine hesitancy was in any meaningful way affected by anti-vaccine movements. Full article

Vaccine hesitancy, which potentially leads to the refusal or delayed acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, is considered a key driver of the increasing death toll from the pandemic in the EU. The European Commission and several member states’ governments are either planning or have already directly or indirectly announced mandatory vaccination for individuals aged over 60, the group which has repeatedly proved to be the most vulnerable. In this paper, an assessment of this strategy’s benefits is attempted by deriving a metric for the potential gains of vaccination mandates that can be used to compare EU member states. This is completed by examining the reduction in Standard Expected Years of Life Lost (SEYLL) per person for the EU population over 60 as a function of the member states’ vaccination percentage in these ages. The publicly available data and results of the second iteration of the SHARE COVID-19 survey on the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, conducted during the summer of 2021, are used as inputs. Full article

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic raised many challenges for all patients with chronic conditions and those with autoimmune diseases, both adults and children. Special attention is paid to their immunological status, concomitant diseases, and the need for immunosuppressive therapy. All of these factors may impact their COVID-19 course and outcome. COVID-19 vaccination is accepted as one of the most successful strategies for pandemic control. However, individuals with immune-mediated chronic diseases, including autoimmune liver and gut diseases, have been excluded from the vaccine clinical trials. Therefore, we rely on real-world data from vaccination after vaccine approval for these patients to fill the evidence gap for the long-term safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with autoimmune gut and liver diseases. Current recommendations from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) societies suggest COVID-19 vaccination in children older than 5 years old, adults and even pregnant females with IBD. The same recommendations are applied to patients with autoimmune liver diseases. Nevertheless, autoimmune disease patients still experience high levels of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, and more studies have to be conducted to clarify this issue. Full article

The coronavirus pandemic is the greatest crisis of our time, having claimed over 2 million lives and shocking the global economy. Scientists and governments have suggested the idea of a digital COVID-19 certificate, to identify vaccinated persons easily. This paper assesses the positions of stakeholders on COVID-19 vaccination certificates, their presentation, and their importance. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was applied in this study. Search terms with Boolean and/or operators were combined to increase relevant results. Four large digital databases were used for the search. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to screen 298 collated studies. Two reviewers independently assessed search results, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the included studies. It is essential to re-examine digital COVID-19 vaccination certificates, considering their benefits, such as real-time detection of fake vaccination certificates and identifying and mapping non-vaccinated areas for strategic vaccination planning. The use of a single electronic platform globally will ease verification processes while bringing economies back to their feet. Digital COVID-19 vaccination certificates may provide balance in this pandemic era. With digital COVID-19 certificate exceeding documentation purposes, it is important to recognise factors such as global economy and human rights, boosting free movements of persons. Full article

Healthcare students are clinicians-in-training likely to come into contact with COVID-19 as much as other frontline healthcare professionals. It is therefore necessary to prioritize vaccinations for this group. We conducted a global systematic assessment of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates and related factors among healthcare students using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases and keyword searches in March of 2022. We found 1779 articles with relevant information and 31 articles that matched our inclusion criteria. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis and quality assessment using the eight-item Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal test for cross-sectional studies. A total of 30,272 individuals from 16 countries were studied. Most of the studies were carried out in the U.S. (n = 6), China (n = 5), Poland (n = 5), India (n = 2), Italy (n = 2), and Israel (n = 2). The prevalence of the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate was 68.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 60.8–76.3, I² = 100%), and the prevalence of the vaccine hesitancy rate was 25.8% (95% CI: 18.5–33.8, I² = 99%). In country-specific analyses, Romania showed the highest acceptance rate (88.0%, 95% CI: 44.5–100%), while Iraq showed the lowest acceptance rate (66.2%, 95% CI: 35.5–90.8%). In time-trend analyses, we found that acceptance rates among healthcare students decreased over time. Students concerned about potentially serious side effects of the vaccine were less willing to accept the vaccine. National and international interventions should be adopted to reduce COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy rates among these important frontline workers. Full article