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This article aims to identify the factors prevalent among health science librarians toward vaccine hesitancy. With the development of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, numerous efforts are being taken to vaccinate people to control the spread of coronavirus. Recent research has shown a high level of vaccine hesitancy among various groups in various fields but no study has been conducted to explore the factors responsible for vaccine hesitancy among library professionals. A cross-sectional online survey of Indian health science librarians was conducted. Data was collected through an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms and analyzed using MS-Excel. Descriptive statistics were used in the study. The majority of respondents (77%) showed a high level of vaccine hesitancy due to issues of safety, negative information, and confusion over vaccines. Measures to increase vaccination uptake and authentic sources with respect to COVID-19 vaccines have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As of October 1, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) reports that COVID-19 has spread in 216 countries or territories or areas which results into throwing billions of lives under lockdown as healthcare services struggle to cope. Therefore, timely access to healthcare information during COVID-19 crisis is mandatory to restrain its spread. Objectives: To comprehend the information needs and seeking behaviour of general public during COVID-19 outbreak in India. Methods: A national survey through an online questionnaire was conducted in India and 1310 respondents participated in the study through snowball sampling technique. Results: The most decisive information needs of majority of respondents were COVID-19 signs and symptoms, causes and treatments of illness, prevention and control of COVID-19. Conspicuously, news websites, dedicated websites of coronavirus and medical staff were the most preferred and trustworthy sources of information related to COVID-19. Furthermore, credibility or authenticity of information was identified as the major problem in seeking COVID-19 information. Conclusion: The study's findings provide insight into the spectrum of health information seeking among general public in India during COVID-19 outbreak. This study may be useful to social welfare and government health departments, hospitals, and health-information communicators engaged in public safety and well-being in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]