A Survey Study To Explore Liverpool John Moores University Students’ Attitudes Towards The Covid-19 Vaccine

Abstract

The World Health Organization announced COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, after the virus that caused COVID-19, which was detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China had spread globally (WHO, 2020). Our way of living changed drastically; non-essential stores, schools, and offices were closed with the intention to prevent and minimise the transmission of the virus and protect the public. In December 2020, the COVID-19 vaccine (BioNtech/Pfizer) was approved for use in the UK, since then different COVID-19 vaccines have been developed and approved for use in the UK (Sasse, 2020). With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters there is not sufficient data available on student’s acceptance and their perceptions towards the willingness of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines will be an important step in combating and reducing COVID-19 but achieving high uptake may be difficult. The purpose of the study was to explore and investigate Liverpool John Moores University students’ attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine and factors that influence their decision on receiving or not receiving the vaccine. The study used a quantitative method and used an online questionnaire to obtain the data. Convenience sampling was the method used by the researcher. The questionnaire was completed by 32 students studying at Liverpool John Moores University. The researcher analysed and obtained data from the questionnaire by using Jisc online survey and Microsoft Excel, which allowed the researcher to produce bar charts, tables and pie charts. Majority of students had a positive attitude towards both the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination in general. The main findings of the research showed that overall knowledge and COVID-19 vaccine uptake was good but not with everyone. Findings showed that student’s attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccination are influenced by information obtained from family, friends, health professionals and social media, which have a significant impact on individual’s perceptions and decision making towards the COVID-19 vaccine. Respondents that refused or were hesitant towards the COVID-19 vaccine stated that their main reasons for not receiving the vaccine was not believing the vaccine is safe or effective, side effects, and concerns about the ingredients used. Therefore, in the researcher viewpoint more research and targeted interventions are needed to understand student’s attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine. Studies and focused interventions to engage students in health campaigns in their universities, communities and social spaces and make vaccination available on campuses to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake. A multidisciplinary approach should be considered in attempting to reduce negative attitudes, lack of trust, misunderstanding about the COVID-19 vaccines to help gain trust, decrease misunderstanding and provide sufficient and accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine in order to minimise vaccine hesitancy.