Knowledge and attitudes about vaccinations among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: In Hungary, regarding the age-related mandatory vaccinations, the population is almost 100% vaccinated. In the case of recommended vaccinations, however, the situation is less favourable, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaccination sentiment has also appeared in some groups to a greater extent than before. Reducing this is the task of all health professionals.Objective: The exploration of knowledge and attitudes about vaccinations, and the analysis of the characteristics of these factors according to gender, year and vaccine willingness/hesitancy among medical students at the University of Szeged.Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted among first and fourth year medical students of the University, using an online questionnaire, which examined, in addition to sociodemographic characteristics, the administration of influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations, the self-assessment of knowledge about vaccinations, the importance of vaccinations, and student opinions about recommended vaccinations.Results: Based on the definition of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group, 88.6% of the students belonged to the "vaccine willingness" group, who administered the vaccine against COVID-19 as soon as it became available, while the "vaccine hesitancy" group (11.4%) only asked for the vaccine when vaccination was made mandatory or not even then. According to the model adjusted to gender and year, those who showed willingness to vaccinate were more likely to consider the use of vaccinations, counselling, etc. important than those who were hesitant, while there was no correlation with the self-rating of knowledge. On the basis of the odds ratio of the statements related to the recommended vaccinations, it was possible to identify the opinions associated with vaccine willingness or hesitancy.Discussion: Overall, student knowledge and attitudes showed a positive picture. On the other hand, it should be emphasized that the misconceptions identified among students showing vaccine hesitancy are the same as the anti -vaccination sentiments found among the general population.Conclusion: During university training, more emphasis should be placed on monitoring the willingness of students to be vaccinated, and on developing knowledge and communication.