Acceptability of the Vaccine against COVID-19 in Spanish Health Sciences Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Healthcare professionals must play an exemplary role in the field of vaccinology. It is convenient that they are trained during their time at university. The objective of this study was to determine the acceptability of the vaccines against COVID-19 in health sciences students in Spanish universities. A cross-sectional study was performed regarding the acceptance of the vaccines against COVID-19 in students in the Health Sciences Degrees in Spanish universities was performed on a sample of students of nursing, medicine, and pharmacy during the spring of 2021, via an online questionnaire with 36 questions designed ad hoc, self-administered, anonymized, and standardized. There were 1222 students participating, of Spanish nationality (97.4%), women (80.5%) and with an average age of 22.0 ± 4.8 years old. Of those, 12.3% had had the disease, 44.0% had to quarantine, 70.8% had undergone diagnostic tests, out of which 14.1% were positive. In total, 97.5% of those surveyed indicated their desire of being vaccinated, if possible, with Comirnaty® (74.9%). At the time of the study, 49.6% were already vaccinated. The reasons for vaccination differed according to the degree and the doubts about vaccine safety was the largest reason for reluctance. Some 37.7% suspected that there are unknown adverse effects and 85.6% of those vaccinated experienced some mild effects after injection. Vaccine acceptance and confidence in the recommendations given by health authorities is high in health sciences students.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Work Activity of Spanish Physical Therapists and Their Response to Vaccination.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical therapists have had to adopt a set of specific protection measures, which have had an impact on their clinical activity and economy. The objective was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of Spanish physical therapists, as well as their attitudes and predisposition to vaccination. An online questionnaire was divided into five sections: (1) demographic and professional data; (2) labor impact; (3) precautions and infection-control measures; (4) economic impact; and (5) vaccine acceptance and adverse effects. Of the 666 participants, 62.1% showed a reduction in their working hours motivated by: fear of infection (p = 0.007), financial issues (p = 0.002) and being in quarantine or isolation (p < 0.001). Of these, 36.4% were forced to close the clinic, 62.7% requested help from the government, but only 12.04% mentioned that it was adequate. The main prevention measures adopted were the use of gels and masks and, in the private sector, disinfection with ozone or ultraviolet light (p < 0.05). The acceptance of the vaccine was high, 87.5%, being lower among the group over 40 years of age, self-employed, widowed or separated. More adverse effects were mentioned after receiving the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, compared to Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. In conclusion, this study assessed for the first time that the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain had a negative impact on work and finances of physical therapists. The vaccine was widely accepted, in part by the economic impact that an infection in the work setting could signify.

Willingness to Be Vaccinated against COVID-19 in Spain before the Start of Vaccination: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Vaccine hesitancy has increased in the past few years, influenced by the socio-cultural differences, political populism, or concerns related to the effectiveness and safety of some vaccines, resulting a feeling of distrust. This feeling can become a barrier against the achievement of the immunity necessary to stop the expansion of COVID-19. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of the vaccine against COVID-19 in Spain, as well as to identify the factors that have an influence on the concerns and attitudes of people against accepting the vaccine in the months prior to the start of vaccination on December 2020. An online questionnaire was created to obtain information about (1) sociodemographic characteristics; (2) concerns and sources of information about vaccines; and (3) attitudes about vaccination and state of health. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the influencing factors. Of the 2501 participants, 1207 (48.3%) would accept the COVID-19 vaccine, 623 (24.9%) were hesitant, and 671 (26.8%) would reject it. The logistic regression showed that being male, older than 60, married, retired, with a high level of education, or with a leftist political inclination, could increase the probability of accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. Disinformation and the lack of political consensus were the main sources of distrust. The patients with hypertension, immunodepression, hypercholesterolemia, or respiratory disease, or were overweight, showed a greater acceptance to the vaccine, while those with cancer took the longest to accept it. A low acceptance of the vaccine against COVID-19 was observed among the Spanish population in the phase prior to its availability, and the main fears of the population were identified. It is necessary to offer correct and transparent information about these vaccines to reduce the concerns and increase the trust of the population, to thereby guarantee the success of the vaccination campaigns.