فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

BACKGROUND: India is all set to begin vaccination against COVID‑19. A good number of peopleare falling prey to anti‑vaccination campaigns, and therefore, some amount of vaccine hesitancymust have developed. The primary objective of the study was to find the level of potential COVID‑19vaccine hesitancy in Kashmiri population.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross‑sectional study conducted in the valley of Kashmir.A predesigned questionnaire was shared online. The participation of respondents was voluntary.Exclusions were made on account of residence outside Kashmir valley, duplicate forms, and wronginformation. The data were entered into Microsoft Excel 2010 and analyzed using SPSS version 23.RESULTS: A total of 487 respondents were included. About 67% of the participants were in the agegroup of ≤30 years, 55% female, 54% rural, and 16% had ever been COVID‑19 positive. About14% of the participants were completely hesitant about receiving the COVID‑19 vaccine, whereas40% were unsure if they will accept the vaccination. The main reason for the total nonacceptance ofthe vaccine was the doubts about the safety of COVID‑19 vaccines (67%). Urban people were morelikely to be hesitant to the vaccine than rural people (odds ratio [OR] 1.845, confidence interval CI1.022 to 3.333). Those who were ever COVID‑19 positive were 3.3 times more likely to say “no” toCOVID‑19 vaccination than those who were never positive.CONCLUSION: Strategic steps must be taken to minimize the vaccine hesitancy associated withCOVID‑19 vaccination. Authorities should direct efforts toward vaccine education, creating awarenessamong people about the importance of COVID‑19 vaccination.