(1016) New COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among College Students

Objectives: On September 12, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for the public aged 6 months and older to receive the updated COVID-19 vaccine for 2023-2024. The objective of this study was to evaluate and assess the vaccine hesitancy of the new COVID-19 vaccine among college students on a University campus.

Methods: On September 21, 2023, the research team participated at the University’s Wellness Fair to promote and educate the student body on the COVID-19 vaccine. A 7-item, voluntary, anonymous online survey was administered to assess the vaccine hesitancy for the new COVID-19 vaccine among the student body. The survey included questions to collect data on basic demographics (age, gender, race, academic rank, college) and the question, “Will you get the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine?” If the participants answered “no” or “not sure” , they were lead to a conditional question to assess for the reason for hesitancy. Descriptive statistics were used for this study. IRB approval was received from the University.

Results: Seventy-five students responded to the survey. The median age was 18 years old with a range of (17-26) years old. Sixty-one (81%) participants identified as female. Most participants were Asians at 32% (24), followed by Black or African American and White at 25.3% (19) each. Freshmen accounted for 44% (33) of the participants, followed by 22.7% (17) of sophomores, 18.7% (14) of graduate students, 10.7% (8) of juniors, and 4% (3) seniors. Students belonged in the following programs of study: health sciences 36% (27), liberal arts 36% (27), professional studies 16% (12), business 8% (6), and education 4% (3).
Out of the 75 respondents, 54 (72%) students responded “yes”, 13 (17.3%) students responded “not sure”, and 8 (10.7%) responded “no” to getting the new COVID-19 vaccine. Of the 8 students who responded “no”, 4 (50%) students are studying health sciences, 3 (37.5%) liberal arts, and 1 (12.5%) business. Top reasons for vaccine hesitancy include the following: adverse effects of vaccine 33.3% (7), vaccine fatigue 33.3% (7), belief that the vaccine is not effective 23.8% (5), belief that COVID-19 infection would be mild 19% (4), and belief that COVID-19 infection would not occur, even if unvaccinated 9.5% (2).

Conclusions: Results of this survey revealed a 28% rate of vaccine hesitancy for the new COVID-19 vaccine among college students at this University. Vaccine hesitancy was reported in students studying all majors, including health sciences. The top three reasons for vaccine hesitancy were adverse effects of the vaccine, vaccine fatigue, and belief that the new vaccine is not effective. Limitations of this study include a small number of participants from a single University campus. Results from this study may help inform future efforts to improve vaccine messaging and uptake among college students.