At the end of 2020, the Italian Ministry of Health launched a national vaccination campaign to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed at appraising levels of knowledge about and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in a sample of Italian undergraduates during the first phase of the immunization plan. A web-based questionnaire was administered to students attending universities in Bari, Naples, and Rome during the period February–April 2021. Of the total of 3226 participants, 91.9% were keen to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. More than 80% gave correct answers to questions about COVID-19 vaccine administration, functioning, and effects on community health. However, only 63.8% identified the correct composition of the available vaccines. Knowledge was found to be related to sociodemographic features and COVID-19 vaccination acceptance ( p < 0.05). COVID-19 vaccination acceptance was found to be related to having a previous vaccination against influenza (OR 3.806, CI 95% 1.181–12.267; p = 0.025) and knowledge (OR 4.759, CI 95% 2.106–10.753; p = 0.000). These results show a good level of awareness about COVID-19 vaccination in this population, which may indicate the effectiveness of communication strategies accompanying the COVID-19 immunization campaign in Italy.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Vaccine hesitancy, Vaccine acceptance, information, undergraduates, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination, Vaccines, Influenza, knowledge, COVID-19 pandemic, Italy, immunization, Health, COVID-19 vaccination, Effectiveness, Community, questionnaire, administration, Participants, Rome, National, Naples, Sociodemographic, Administered, Effect, Ministry of Health, Italian, feature, question, receive, 【제목키워드】 Italy, acceptance, student,