Prevalence of the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines: A cross-sectional study among the students of Bishop Stuart University in South-western Uganda.

Abstract

Background:

 Different studies have been carried out on acceptance of Covid-19 vaccines, willingness to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and factors associated with the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines but very few studies have been carried out to find out the prevalence of the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines, especially among university students. The aim of this study, therefore, is to find out the prevalence of the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines among the students of Bishop Stuart University.

Methodology:

A cross-sectional study design using qualitative and quantitative approaches was employed. Data was collected from a sample of randomly selected 370 respondents between 11^th July and 3rd October 2022 from Bishop Stuart University. Qualitative and Quantitative data collection methods were employed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26 was used during the analysis.

Results:

The prevalence of uptake of Covid-19 Vaccines among the students of BSU was 57.0% where the majority of the respondents were females, 52.2% (n=193), students aged ≤30 years, 59.2% (n=215), those from middle-income, 57.3% (n=212), Christians, 60.8% (n = 225) and undergraduates, 89.2% (n = 330).

Conclusion:

More than half of the students of Bishop Stuart University were vaccinated with at least one of the vaccines against COVID-19 vaccine; the general uptake of Covid-19 vaccines among these students with a full dose was low as shown by the results of those who took a full dose of AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson or any other Covid-19 vaccine.

Recommendation:

 The study recommended that effective sensitization and psycho-education should be carried out to educate the general public about the effectiveness of the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines.