COVID-19 vaccine was launched in India on 16 January 2021, prioritizing health care workers which included medical students. We aimed to assess vaccine hesitancy and factors related to it among medical students in India. An online questionnaire was filled by 1068 medical students across 22 states and union territories of India from 2 February -7 March 2021. Vaccine hesitancy was found among 10.6%. Concern regarding vaccine safety and efficacy, hurried testing of vaccines prior to launch and lack of trust in government agencies predicted COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Presence of risk perception of oneself regarding contracting COVID-19 reduced vaccine hesitancy as well as hesitation in participating in COVID-19 vaccine trials. Vaccine hesitant students were more likely to derive information from social media and less likely from teachers at medical college.Choosing between the two available vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) was considered important by medical students both for themselves and for their future patients. Covishield was preferred to Covaxin by students. Majority of those willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine felt that it was important for them to resume their clinical posting, face-to-face

Background Understanding risk factors of symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vis-à-vis asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, severe disease and death is important. Methods An unmatched case–control study was conducted through telephonic interviews among individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Jodhpur, India from 23 March to 20 July 2020. Contact history, comorbidities and tobacco and alcohol use were elicited using standard tools. Results Among 911 SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals, 47.5% were symptomatic, 14.1% had severe COVID-19 and 41 (4.5%) died. Older age, working outside the home, cardiac and respiratory comorbidity and alcohol use were found to increase the risk of symptomatic disease as compared with asymptomatic infection. Current tobacco smoking (odds ratio [OR] 0.46 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.26 to 0.78]) but not smokeless tobacco use (OR 0.81 [95% CI 0.55 to 1.19]) appeared to reduce the risk of symptomatic disease. Age ≥60 y and renal comorbidity were significantly associated with severe COVID-19. Age ≥60 y and respiratory and cardiac comorbidity were found to predispose to mortality. Conclusions The apparent reduced risk of symptomatic COVID-19 among tobacco smokers could be due to residual confounding owing to unknown factors, while acknowledging the limitation of recall bias. Cross-protection afforded by frequent upper respiratory tract infection among tobacco smokers could explain why a similar association was not found for smokeless tobacco use, thereby being more plausible than the ‘nicotinic hypothesis’. Those with comorbidities and age ≥60 y should be prioritized for hospital admission.

COVID-19 vaccine was launched in India on 16 January 2021, prioritizing health care workers which included medical students. We aimed to assess vaccine hesitancy and factors related to it among undergraduate medical students in India. An online questionnaire was filled by 1068 medical students across 22 states and union territories of India from 2 February to 7 March 2021. Vaccine hesitancy was found among 10.6%. Concern regarding vaccine safety and efficacy, hurried testing of vaccines prior to launch and lack of trust in government agencies predicted COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Risk perception regarding contracting COVID-19 vaccine reduced COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy as well as hesitation in participating in COVID-19 vaccine trials. Choosing between the two available vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) was considered important by medical students both for themselves and their future patients. Covishield was preferred to Covaxin by students. Majority of those willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine felt that it was important for them to resume their clinical posting, face-to-face classes and get their personal life back on track. Around three-fourths medical students viewed that COVID-19 vaccine should be made mandatory for both health care workers and international travellers. Prior adult vaccination did not have an effect upon COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Targeted awareness campaigns, regulatory oversight of vaccine trials and public release of safety and efficacy data and trust building activities could further reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among medical students.

Context:To reduce the magnitude of antimicrobial resistance, there is a need to strengthen the knowledge for future prescribers regarding use and prescription of antibiotics. Before that, it is required to have a conclusive evidence about knowledge, attitude, and practices of that group.Aim:To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and the practices of medical students in India with respect to antibiotic resistance and usage.Settings and Design:It was a cross-sectional study which was done online through Google forms for a period of 4 months from July to October 2018.Materials and Methods:A structured questionnaire containing a five-point Likert scale was sent to medical students across India by sharing link through contacts of Medical Students Association of India. Respondent-driven sampling technique was also adopted for the study.Statistical Analysis Used:Descriptive statistics, parametric (Chi-square), and nonparametric (Kruskal--Wallis and Mann--Whitney U) tests.Results:A total of 474 responses were received from 103 medical colleges across 22 states of India. The mean score of knowledge was 4.36 ± 0.39. As compared to first year students, knowledge was significantly higher among students of all the years. As much as 83.3% students have consumed antibiotics in previous year of the survey. Around 45% of medical students accepted that they buy antibiotics without a medical prescription.Conclusion:The knowledge level of medical students was quite satisfactory. As far as attitude and practices are concerned, there is a substantial need for improvements.