Knowledge, perceptions, and uptake of covid-19 vaccine by medical & pharmacy students of a tertiary institution in southwest Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Background: During the covid-19 pandemic, vaccination program commenced in most countries, including Nigeria. Uptake of the vaccine was essential to improve herd immunity.

Objectives: This study assessed the knowledge, perception, and uptake of the covid-19 vaccine among medical and pharmacy students.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical and pharmacy students of a tertiary institution. Data were collected with an online semi-structured questionnaire using a non-probability sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were undertaken using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. The confidence interval was set at 95% while a P- value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of the 300 students that completed the questionnaire, more than three quarters (78.7%) were between ages 20 to 29 years, with a mean age of 23.6 ± 2.6 (years). More than half (63.3%) were females and mostly from monogamous families (84.7%). Almost half of the students (43.3%) have not taken the covid-19 vaccine. More than three-quarters (77%) had good knowledge, while the majority had a positive attitude (99 %) toward covid-19 vaccines. About 88% of the students perceive the covid-19 vaccine as a strategy to reduce incidence, hospitalization, and death. Year of study (p = 0.014), course of the study (P = 0.024), and having received any vaccine previously (p = 0.003) were associated with the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Conclusion: The students had good knowledge, a positive attitude, and a good perception of the covid-19 vaccine, but the uptake of the vaccine was low. The inclusion of communicable diseases such as covid-19 infection in the curriculum of Medical and Pharmacy students is recommended.