Demographics and Individual Beliefs as Determinants of Covid-19 Booster Shot Acceptance

This study mainly examined the association between perceptions of the risks and benefits of taking the COVID-19 vaccine booster shots and acceptance of such booster shots among paramedical and non-paramedical freshman students enrolled during School Year 2022-2023 in Liceo de Cagayan University. A researcher-made questionnaire, which was content validated and pretested for reliability, was used for data gathering. The questionnaire in Google Forms was sent to all freshman students via their university e-mail accounts. Data were processed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that the majority of the respondents were female and belonged to the lower class. Furthermore, the respondents were uncertain as to the possible risks following a booster shot. However, they demonstrated agreement to the benefits of taking booster shots. The respondents were hesitant to take COVID-19 booster shots. Moreover, there existed a significant and positive relationship between the respondents’ individual beliefs and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. The respondents’ sex and socio-economic status were not associated with their acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. That is, sex and socio-economic status do not have a significant bearing on the students’ acceptance or hesitation about taking the vaccine booster shots. Perceptions do shape students’ health-seeking behavior. These findings may call for an intensified school campaign for raising students’ awareness of the importance of booster shots against COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19, vaccine booster shot, perceived risks, perceived benefits, acceptance of vaccine