This cross-sectional study explored factors associated with the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination acceptance among higher education students in southwestern Germany. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey at six state-approved higher education institutions (HEIs) between July and November 2021. In addition to descriptive analyses, univariate as well as multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were conducted. A total of 6556 higher education students aged 18 years and older participated in our survey; 91.4% of participating students had been vaccinated against COVID-19 at least once. The factors that significantly contributed to the explanation of higher education students’ vaccination status in the multivariate analysis (area under curve—AUC = 0.94) were variables on the perception of the virus SARS-CoV-2 (affective risk perception: Adjusted odds ratio—aOR = 1.2; perception of the outbreak as a media-hype: aOR = 0.8), attitudes towards personal (aOR = 0.7) and study-related (aOR = 0.8) health and safety measures to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination (preservation of own health: aOR = 1.3; confidence in vaccine safety: aOR = 1.7; supporting higher education through vaccination: aOR = 1.2; own contribution to the containment of the pandemic: aOR = 1.7). The findings target assisting HEIs in returning to face-to-face teaching after previous semesters of online teaching.

In our study, we investigated possible differences across occupational groups regarding employees’ perceived work-related risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2, attitudes toward technical, organisational, and personal occupational safety and health (OSH) measures for infection control, and factors associated with this attitude. We analysed baseline data (10 August to 25 October 2020) from a repeated standardised online survey distributed at a worldwide leading global supplier of technology and services in Germany. 2144 employees (32.4% women; age (mean ± SD): 44 ± 11 years) who worked predominantly remotely (n = 358), at an on-site office (n = 1451), and assembly line/manufacturing (n = 335) were included. The work-related SARS-CoV-2 risk of infection differed between office employees working remotely and on-site (mean ± SD = 2.9 ± 1.5 vs. 3.2 ± 1.5; Mann-Whitney-U-Test: W = 283,346; p < 0.002; ε2 = 0.01) and between on-site office and assembly line/manufacturing employees (3.8 ± 1.7; W = 289,174; p < 0.001; ε2 = 0.02). Attitude scores toward technical OSH-measures differed between remote and on-site office (4.3 ± 0.5 vs. 4.1 ± 0.6; W = 216,787; p < 0.001; ε2 = 0.01), and between on-site office and assembly line/manufacturing employees (3.6 ± 0.9; W = 149,881; p < 0.001; ε2 = 0.07). Findings were similar for organisational and personal measures. Affective risk perception, COVID-19-specific resilience, and information about COVID-19-related risks were associated with the employees’ attitudes. To promote positive attitudes, it seems to be important to consider occupational-group-specific context factors when implementing OSH-measures for infection control.

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