Attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines in Colombian university students: Frequency and associated variables

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: The attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine varies widely depending on the context, way of measurement, and pandemic stage. However, little information is available about Colombian populations. The study aimed to know the frequency and variables associated with COVID-19 vaccine attitude in students of a Colombian university. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out which participated emerging adult students of a Colombian university. RESULTS: A total of 1,136 students between 18 and 29 years (M= 22.0, SD = 3.0); most of participants were female (66.0%), non-health students (82.8%), low-income (79.0%), and residents of urban areas (84.9%). The percentage of low institutional trust was 74.8%; low cognitive social capital, 27.9%; low fear of COVID-19, 49.5%; low perceived stress related to COVID-19, 83.5%; and negative attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines, 78.9%. Non-health carrier (Adjusted OR = 3.63, 95% CI 2.58-5.10), rural residence (AOR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.13-3.04), low income (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.31-2.57), and perceived stress related to COVID-19 (AOR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.20-2.54) were related to unfavorable attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines. CONCLUSIONS: The negative attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines is high among emerging adult Colombian university students. The negative attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines is related to non-health science carriers, rural residents, low-income, and low-perceived stress related to COVID-19. The COVID-19 related health literacy should be improved in students of this university considering socio-cultural background. (www.actabiomedica.it)