Knowledge, attitudes, and practices among MBBS students about vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is a significant epidemic that has generated a rapidly spreading respiratory infectious disease responsible for SARS. The present study was designed to observe the knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical students on COVID-19 vaccines. The pandemic was tougher on medical students than ever before and now that they are vaccinated and have finally resumed outpatient department and ward posting it was necessary to understand student’s perspectives about vaccines. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among MBBS students about vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: Based on the medical students’ COVID-19 vaccination status, this qualitative investigation was carried out between May and July 2021. Online data on the COVID-19 vaccination were gathered using a self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire that was distributed to students throughout South India and was based on recommendations provided on the official website by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Approval from the institutional ethical committee was obtained before data collection. Results: A total of 296 medical students participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 20.5 ± 1.3 years. Out of which 57.40% were men and 42.60% were women. The majority of 97.30% medical students consider that vaccination is required; 84.80% of medical students are vaccinated and 15.20% of them are not yet vaccinated pain at the site of injection, body ache, headache, and fever appears to be the major side effects of COVID-19 vaccination whereas loss of consciousness, and allergy occurred among the least population. Conclusion: This study examined medical students of South India’s attitudes, beliefs, experiences, reactions, and feelings regarding the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perception. We found that the opinion on the vaccine’s safety, doses of the vaccine to receive, vaccine safety with some side effects, and the possibility of getting coronavirus disease after vaccination are significant positive factors influencing the acceptability in medical students.