Temple University, College of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Vaccine Education Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Vaccine. 2024 Nov 14;42(25):126138. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.07.039. Epub 2024 Jul 17.
University students have a unique perspective on vaccination because of their recent or perhaps newly acquired autonomy and ability to make health-related decisions. The development of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2020 and its implementation over the past few years was accompanied by much information and communication about vaccination requirements and safety, which may have affected students' perspectives on vaccination and vaccine requirements more broadly. This analysis describes current vaccine policies at several universities and evaluates student respondents' perceptions of and agreement with university vaccine requirements.
A 32-question survey was administered to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attending four Pennsylvania universities in March-May 2023; 2,223 students responded to the survey. The survey included questions about vaccine requirements, agreement with vaccine requirements, and knowledge of selected vaccines. These responses were compared with the actual vaccine requirements and recommendations of the four universities.
Most respondents agreed with university vaccine requirements, though knowledge of those requirements varied, with many unaware of which were required. University requirement of the COVID-19 vaccine was not associated with being vaccinated for COVID-19. However, while the requirement itself was not related to vaccine uptake, respondents' perception of a requirement was. Respondents were more likely to report COVID-19 vaccination and influenza vaccination if they believed their university required those vaccines. Respondents were more likely to approve of a vaccine requirement if their perception was that their university required that vaccine.
Overall, student respondents were supportive of their institution's vaccine requirements, but many lacked information about those requirements. Clear messaging using multiple modes of communication about vaccines and vaccine requirements may improve students' knowledge of vaccines and result in a corresponding increase in vaccine uptake.
由于大学生最近或刚刚获得自主权和做出与健康相关的决策的能力，他们对疫苗接种有独特的看法。2020 年 COVID-19 疫苗的开发及其在过去几年的实施伴随着大量关于疫苗接种要求和安全性的信息和交流，这可能更广泛地影响了学生对疫苗接种和疫苗接种要求的看法。本分析描述了几所大学目前的疫苗政策，并评估了学生受访者对大学疫苗要求的看法和认同。
2023 年 3 月至 5 月，向宾夕法尼亚州的四所大学的本科生、研究生和专业学生发放了一份 32 个问题的调查；共有 2223 名学生对该调查做出了回应。该调查包括关于疫苗要求、对疫苗要求的认同以及对选定疫苗的了解等问题。这些回答与这四所大学的实际疫苗要求和建议进行了比较。
大多数受访者认同大学的疫苗接种要求，尽管他们对这些要求的了解存在差异，许多人不知道哪些是必需的。大学对 COVID-19 疫苗的要求与接种 COVID-19 疫苗无关。然而，虽然要求本身与疫苗接种率无关，但受访者对要求的看法是相关的。如果他们认为自己的大学需要接种疫苗，那么他们更有可能报告接种 COVID-19 疫苗和流感疫苗。如果他们认为自己的大学需要接种疫苗，那么他们更有可能批准疫苗接种要求。
总的来说，学生受访者支持他们所在机构的疫苗接种要求，但许多人缺乏有关这些要求的信息。使用多种沟通方式传达关于疫苗和疫苗接种要求的明确信息，可能会提高学生对疫苗的了解，并相应增加疫苗接种率。
