With nearly half of students in one university’s survey saying they would not get vaccinated, or aren’t sure if they would, a marketing professor offers ideas for administrators to help more students make the best decision for public health.
Students at a midsized public university in Connecticut were just surveyed to determine the extent of their vaccine hesitancy regarding coronavirus vaccines. The random sample consisted of 592 graduate and undergraduate students. The survey asked: “Will you be vaccinated for the coronavirus when vaccines are available to you?” And the results: 299 (50.6%) responded yes, 176 (29.8%) responded no, and 114 (19.3%) responded not sure.
The sample consisted of 378 (64.0%) female students and 206 (34.90%) male students, and respondents were segmented by year in school as follows: (a) 144 (24.4%) students were freshmen; (b) 116 (19.6%) students were sophomores; (c)154 (26.1%) students were juniors; and (d) 154 (26.1%) students were seniors. Students’ comments regarding why they would not be vaccinated or why they were not sure indicated that they needed more information.
The implications for college and university administrators are clear. The issues must be addressed. It is clear from the students’ comments that their main concern is fear of the unknown. They do not have enough information to decide whether to be vaccinated. Information campaigns must begin now.