KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND ACCEPTANCE OF COVID-19 VACCINE AMONGST STUDENTS IN PUBLIC TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN ABA, ABIA STATE
Abstract
COVID-19 is defined as an illness caused by a novel corona virus now called severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2. It could be asymptomatic or patients may present with fever, headache, cough, fatigue, dyspnea, myalgia, rhinorrhea.
The need for a COVID-19 vaccine was imperative due to the global pandemic it caused leading to massive loss of lives and shutdown of all economic activities. COVID-19 vaccines include: Moderna vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine etc.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the knowledge, attitude and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines amongst students of tertiary institutions in Aba, Abia State. A simple random sampling method was adopted for use in this study to select participants. Self-administered questionnaires were used and data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 25.
A total of 450 questionnaires were distributed. 431 were returned with a response rate of 95.8%. This study showed that 64.7% (279) of the participants were aged between 21-25 years. 100% of participants had heard of COVID-19. 95.6% had heard about COVID-19 vaccine. 52.9% of participants had knowledge of the types of COVID-19 vaccine. 43.2% of respondents strongly agreed that it was important to be vaccinated. 39.4% agreed that the vaccine will stop the spread of COVID-19. 77.7% of the respondents have not taken the vaccine. 57.9% of the respondents identified fear of side effects as their reason for not taking the vaccine.
This study reported a high level of knowledge of COVID-19 vaccine amongst the respondents. A substantial proportion had a good attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccines.
The factors influencing COVID-19 acceptance included: the level of study of the respondents, the availability and accessibility of COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 still ravages the world and with the discovery of new strains, there is an overwhelming need for COVID-19 vaccination.
Key words: Knowledge, Attitude, Acceptance, COVID-19, Vaccine.
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