Willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors among students of higher education institutions: the case of Rift Valley University, Adama, Central Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

Abstract Introduction: The accelerated global spread of COVID-19 and its high death rate have prompted the World Health Organization to implement vaccination as an effective way to curb the spread of the disease. Accordingly, Ethiopia has launched a national vaccination campaign against the disease. However, the willingness of people to receive the vaccine was considered as an important pre-requisite for the success of the vaccination campaign. The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of willingness towards COVID-19 vaccination and associated factors among students at Rift Valley University, Adama, Ethiopia, in 2022. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 10 to January 25, 2022 among 490 randomly selected students at Rift Valley University, Adama campus. Data was collected by using an interviewer administered questionnaire and was entered into Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 21 for cleaning and analysis. Results: The proportion of willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine was 60.2% (95%CI: 55.9, 64.5). Being male (AOR: 2.72; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.76), having a family history of COVID-19 infection (AOR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.54), having ever taken any vaccine (AOR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.27), and respondents believing the COVID-19 vaccine has no severe side effects (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.27, 3.01) were all positive predictors of willingness. Conclusions: The proportion of willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine among students of higher education institution in Adama town was far lower than that of the nationwide expected result. Male sex, having a family history of COVID-19 infection, having ever taken any vaccine, and the thought of respondents that the COVID-19 vaccine has no severe side effects were independent predictors of willingness to receive the vaccine.