Knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines amongst medical, dental and pharmacy students. A cross-sectional study from Bulgaria

SARS-CoV-2 has disseminated rapidly, resulting in one of the most severe pandemic outbreaks in decades. Countries around the world have been working hard to acquire legislative authorization for vaccination and its subsequent distribution. However, some members of the European Union registered very low uptake of vaccines. Students in the healthcare field could act as contributors to the conflict resolution of vaccine hesitancy. This study investigated the awareness, knowledge and attitudes of Bulgarian medical, dental and pharmacy undergraduate students toward vaccines against COVID-19. In the period 24th Apr – 10th May 2021, a cross-sectional survey was conducted online. A total of 480 students answered the questionnaire form. Only 27% of the responders were negative regarding the vaccination against COVID-19. About 73% of the responders were either already vaccinated or were on the waiting list. Both groups of students believed that the type of vaccine is important, regardless of their vaccination status. Our findings demonstrate a general positive attitude of Bulgarian medical university students toward coronavirus vaccination. The barriers to vaccinations were mainly related to concerns related to the effectiveness of the vaccines consistent with studies in other countries. Government authorities must oppose barriers to vaccination by introducing pro-vaccination campaigns with the help of a multidisciplinary approach in higher education. Thereby, the positive attitudes of medical students can be successfully formed and further increased. This could be utilized to increase the public trust in the immunization process, which would help to oppose the spread of disinformation.