Comment on “Medical Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Cyprus”

Dear Editor, we hereby would like to comment on the published report entitled “Medical students’ attitudes and perceptions of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in Cyprus” [1]. A self-reported, anonymous survey of medical undergraduate students at two medical faculties in the Republic of Cyprus served as the basis for a cross-sectional study conducted by Strouthou et al. [1]. The study, according to Strouthou et al., “highlights the importance of organized, systemic efforts to increase vaccination coverage” and “provides relevant and actionable information about differences in attitudes and perceptions regarding vaccination against influenza and SARS-CoV-2 between clinical and preclinical medical students” [1].

In order to maximize COVID-19 immunization rates and persuade skeptics, public trust in authorities, experts, and scientists have to be increased. For instance, numerous studies have discovered a connection between beliefs on COVID-19 vaccine and no faith in the local healthcare background. Public faith in authorities, professionals, and scientists must be strengthened in order to boost immunization rates and win over doubters. For instance, anti-vaccine beliefs have been connected to a lack of faith in the local healthcare system [2]. One’s level of readiness is determined by one’s belief in their competence to manipulate public health actions during a hard time period. Last but not least, it should be noted that vaccination uptake trends can alter over time. When epidemic conditions change and new knowledge about vaccines becomes available, the pattern of vaccine use frequently changes [3].

The current adoption rate of COVID-19 vaccine is the key cause for concern. The adoption of vaccinations continues to present substantial difficulties for public health institutions all around the world. One investigation found a connection between mistrust of the neighborhood healthcare system and anti-vaccine sentiment [2]. People might utilize public health cures in different manners varying on their degree of faith during a hard time period. The public’s trust in their local public health problem response will have a significant influence on the targeted outcome of public health initiatives during the disease pandemic [3].

Numerous studies published in many parts of the world, including developed and developing countries, highlight these issues.

Those discussions and comments are generally valid for the general population. However, because Strouthou et al.’s study is on the medical student group, which is a specific group, the specific discussion is interesting, as they are the future health workers, and the perceptions and attitudes of the students can show a broader picture of the future society. In a recent report from Egypt and Pakistan, several medical students presented vaccine hesitancy [4,5]. The main predictors of vaccine hesitancy among medical students are a short academic year and female gender [4,5,6]. As was previously mentioned, there are, however, few research studies conducted among medical students that concentrate on background characteristics, such as trust in the local public health system, and there are no long-term studies to evaluate how the reluctance pattern changes over time. As a recommendation, further long-term prospective study with an assessment on background factors should be performed.