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A population's desire to take the COVID-19 vaccine is an important predictor of a country's future pandemic management. This cross-sectional study examines the impact of psychological and sociodemographic factors on attitudes toward and intentions to take the COVID-19 vaccine among students and faculty at four colleges of health professions and sciences at Qatar University. The data were collected through an online survey using Google Forms. The survey was distributed through various online platforms. Data analysis was conducted using Stata 16. Of the 364 participants, 9.89% expressed a high mistrust of vaccine safety, and 21.7% were uncertain about their levels of trust; 28% expressed strong worries about unforeseen side effects, whereas 54.95% expressed moderate worries. Furthermore, 7.69% expressed strong concerns and 39.84% showed moderate concerns about commercial profiteering. Approximately 13% of the participants expressed a strong preference towards natural immunity, whilst 45.33% appeared to believe that natural immunity might be better than a vaccine. Importantly, 68.13% of the participants intended to receive the COVID-19 vaccine once it became available, compared to 17.03% who were uncertain and 14.83% who were unwilling to be vaccinated. Our findings differ from the data on vaccine hesitancy among the general population of Qatar. We argue that this gap is due to scientific knowledge and domain of education. Furthermore, although knowledge and awareness may affect vaccine attitudes, mental health and sociodemographic factors play a role in shaping attitudes towards vaccines.

Gastrointestinal disorders (GIDs) are a common comorbidity in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), while anxiety-like behaviors are common among patients with gastrointestinal diseases. It is still unclear as to which microbes differentiate these two groups. This pilot study aims at proposing an answer by exploring both the bacteriome and the mycobiome in a cohort of 55 volunteers with NDD, GID or controls, while accounting for additional variables that are not commonly included such as probiotic intake and diet. Recruited participants answered a questionnaire and provided a stool sample using the Fisherbrand collection kit. Bacterial and fungal DNA was extracted using the Qiagen Stool minikit. Sequencing (16sRNA and ITS) and phylogenetic analyses were performed using the PE300 Illumina Miseq v3 sequencing. Statistical analysis was performed using the R package. Results showed a significant decrease in bacterial alpha diversity in both NDD and GID, but an increased fungal alpha diversity in NDD. Data pointed at a significant bacterial dysbiosis between the three groups, but the mycobiome dysbiosis is more pronounced in NDD than in GID. Fungi seem to be more affected by probiotics, diet and antibiotic exposure and are proposed to be the main key player in differentiation between NDD and GID dybiosis.