Nursing students and COVID-19 vaccination. ESitA Study An Observational Study

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: Vaccine hesitancy is an important problem in terms of health policy. This historical moment leads us to wonder if vaccine hesitancy is also present among nursing students who should be particularly sensitive to the subject RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Between 10 and 17 February 2021, 1080 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing course of the Department of Medicine of the University of Perugia were invited to answer an online questionnaire sent to their university mailboxes for an observational study. The questionnaire initially asked the students’ personal data; then, among others, it asked whether they had fallen ill, whether they considered government interventions effective, whether the vaccine was safe, whether there was a real health emergency. Finally, whether they had undergone the vaccine RESULTS: A certain amount of vaccination hesitancy was detected among the students in our study. It can be assumed that the issues surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine, which occurred at the start of the vaccination campaign, may have led to an increase in people’s hesitancy. Boosting vaccination campaigns, including appropriate use of social media, may lead to greater acceptance. CONCLUSIONS: At would be useful to assess the cultural basis of the recent anti-Vax controversy, particularly for students of nursing or other health professions, who should be able to evaluate, source and recognize the most validated data. (www.actabiomedica.it)