Coronavirus & vaccination anxiety in a sample of vaccinated individuals

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus pandemic has claimed millions of lives. Introduction of a vaccine against coronavirus serves as a new hope for people worldwide. Due to novel nature of vaccine people have little information about it.Inspite of being vaccinated, people are anxious about coronavirus & the long term effects of the vaccine . AIM: To assess the level of anxiety about Coronavirus & vaccination in a sample of vaccinated individuals. MATERIAL & METHODS: Study Design : Cross- Sectional. Sample Size– Hundred and fifty-five. Inclusion Criteria : 1. Age : Above 18 years. 2. Individuals who received one or both doses of Coronavirus vaccine. 3. Individuals consenting to be part of the study Tools-1] Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: five item scale assessing anxiety associated with coronavirus crisis [Lee, S. A.] 2] Coronavirus vaccination anxiety scale : seven item scale assessing concerns & fears related to Coronavirus vaccination.[Bodner et al.]. RESULTS: Overall levels of coronavirus anxiety (M=2.50,SD=3)(Median=1.00) & Vaccination anxiety(M=15.12,SD=6.82)(Median=13) were low in sample of vaccinated individuals. Coronavirus anxiety(p<0.01) and Vaccination anxiety (p=0.03) were found to be higher in first dose vaccinated individuals. Positive correlation indicated individuals with high coronavirus anxiety had high vaccination anxiety (r=0.37,p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Majority of the individuals understand that vaccination is the need of the hour. However first dose vaccinated individuals seemed anxious as compared to fully vaccinated individuals. If anxiety does exist measures can be employed to reduce anxiety & encourage mass vaccination.