ATTITUDES TOWARD COVID-19 BOOSTER DOSE VACCINES ACCEPTANCEAMONG HEALTHCARE STUDENTS, KARACHI: A CROSS-SECTIONALANALYSIS

Abstract

Objective:
This research aims to evaluate the attitude and perception of medical students in Karachi towards Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines for COVID-19 booster dose vaccines.

Methods:
In May 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted among Pakistani medical and dental students at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS). The questionnaire collected data on demographics, COVID-19 vaccine characteristics, and attitudes towards the COVID-19 booster dose. Independent sample t-tests and ANOVA tests were used to compare the mean attitude scores among groups using SPSS. The level of significance was set at 5% for this study.

Results:
A total of 310 medical students participated in the study, with an age range of 18 to 28 years. The majority of participants were female (224; 72.3%). The COVID-19 infection rate among participants was 98 (31.6%), with only 15 (4.8%) reporting hospital admissions. Additionally, 268 (86.5%) reported having relatives who were infected with COVID-19. Two hundred seventy-eight (89.7%) participants believed that the emergence of continuously new variants, followed by 244 (78.7%) not adhering to CDC guidelines regarding vaccination and incomplete dosage (223; 71.9%), were the major causes of breakthrough infections.

Conclusion:
The study concludes that future healthcare students show a concerning level of hesitancy and rejection towards COVID-19 booster doses. The detrimental attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination and booster doses suggests that mass awareness is urgently required to enhance immunity levels among healthcare students.