Prevalence and factors of influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic among university students in China.

BACKGROUND: Previous outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases (e.g., SARS) had increased the uptake of influenza vaccination (IV). It is uncertain whether such was also true for COVID-19. This study hence investigated prevalence of IV behavior/intention prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated cognitive factors. METHODS: A self-administered, online, and anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted among 6,922 university students of five provinces in China during November 1-28, 2020 (response rate: 72.3%). RESULTS: Of all the participants, 35.1% self-reported behavioral intention of IV (next 12 months), while 62.9% reported an increased intention of IV due to COVID-19. However, only 4.7% and 2.9% had taken up IV during the 12-month period prior to the outbreak (1/2019-12/2019) and during the COVID-19 outbreak (1-11/2020), respectively. Adjusted for the background factors, the multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that in general the COVID-19 related perceptions (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and perceived chance of having another wave of COVID-19 outbreak) were significantly and positively associated the IV behavior (during the COVID-19 outbreak) and intention of IV uptake in the next 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced actual behavior and intention of IV uptake among university students during the pandemic. Efforts are warranted to reduce the intention-behavior gap of IV uptake; modification of perceived susceptibility and perceived severity regarding COVID-19 may help. Future longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to confirm the findings of this study and explore other factors affecting IV uptake during the COVID-19 period.

Behavioural intention of receiving COVID-19 vaccination, social media exposures and peer discussions in China.

The study aimed to investigate behavioural intentions to receive free and self-paid COVID-19 vaccinations (BICV-F and BICV-SP) among Chinese university students if the vaccine was 80% effective with rare mild side effects, to examine their associations with social media exposures and peer discussions regarding COVID-19 vaccination, and to explore the mediational role of perceived information sufficiency about COVID-19 vaccination. An online anonymous survey (N = 6922) was conducted in November 2020 in five Chinese provinces. Logistic regression and path analysis were adopted. The prevalence of BICV-F and BICV-SP were 78.1% and 57.7%. BICV-F was positively associated with the frequencies of passive social media exposure (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.32, P < 0.001), active social media interaction (AOR = 1.13, P < 0.001) and peer discussions (AOR = 1.17, P < 0.001). Indirect effects of the three factors on BICV-F via perceived information sufficiency were all significant (P < 0.001). The direct effect of active social media interaction on BICV-F was significantly negative (P < 0.001). Similar associations/mediations were observed for BICV-SP. The COVID-19 vaccination intention of Chinese university students needs improvement. Boosting social media exposures and peer discussions may raise students' perceived information sufficiency and subsequently increase their vaccination intention. Considering the potential negative effect of active social media interaction, caution is needed when using social media to promote COVID-19 vaccination.

Reflecting on the First Two COVID-19 Deaths in Uganda: A Public Health Perspective

COVID-19 being a rapidly evolving pandemic, early lessons from the first deaths must be learnt to help feed into the public health guidelines. This article, therefore, aims to present the first two deaths due to COVID-19 in Uganda and their public health relevance. This is a case study of the first two COVID-19 deaths reported in Uganda, and the events were prospectively documented. The first case was a 34-year-old female and support staff at a health center II. She first presented with COVID-19 like symptoms before dying on 21st July 2020. The second case was an 80 years old female, who also presented with COVID-19 like symptoms before dying on 24th July 2020. The postmortem samples of both cases were confirmed positive for COVID-19. This study identifies a need for timely identification and testing of COVID-19 suspects, strengthening of health center capacity, as well as more awareness for effective prevention and control of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Clinical & Experimental Investigations is the property of Modestum Publications and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)