COVID-19 VACCINATION: KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE & CHALLENGES AMONG MEDICAL AND NURSING STUDENTS-A WEB BASED SURVEY

Background: Attitude towards vaccination has been one of the major hurdles in vaccination drive. To reduce the burden of this pandemic on society, it is crucial for each and every one to get the vaccination on time. Through this study, we have attempted to study the knowledge and attitude of medical and nursing students and the challenges they have faced after both the doses of vaccine. Material and Methods: We have conducted a questionnaire based survey, circulated among 1st year medical and nursing students of AIIMS Rishikesh in the form of Google form link. Results: Out of total 173 responders, almost 65% students reported Internet to be their most trusted source of information regarding COVID vaccine. Fear of being infected was found to be the major concern among 68.8% studentsduring this pandemic and safety of vaccine was therefore seen as the most common cause (48%) of hesitation while taking vaccination. Although most of the responders, who contracted COVID between these two doses, reported mild symptoms (37.6%), majority of them (76.9%) strongly believe that vaccine was helpful in mitigating the severity of infection. Conclusion: We concluded that fear of being infected and safety of vaccine has been the major concern of Medical students during this pandemic and the cause behind their hesitancy regarding vaccination. However, based on their experience, most of them strongly believe that vaccine has been helpful in mitigating the severity of infection.