2.1. Design and setting
This cross-sectional study was conducted online during the second wave
of the COVID-19 pandemic between February 1, 2021, to March 30, 2021.
The sample of the study consisted of 1100 students who are enrolled in
the Faculty of Nursing of a public university in the metropolitan city
of Izmir. Out of 524 students who voluntarily participated in the study,
a total of 498 students were included, whereas 26 students who had been
vaccinated against COVID-19 were excluded because their willingness to
be vaccinated can no longer be questioned. The COVID-19 vaccination
program in Turkey started on January 14, 2021, with the Chinese-made
inactivated vaccine Sinovac, which was to be administered in two doses
to HCPs and the elderly over 65 years of age. Phizer/BioNTech mRNA
vaccines were introduced onto the vaccination program on April 02, 2021[1]. By the time this study was conducted, nursing
students had not been included in the national immunization program.