Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Towards COVID-19 Vaccination among 15–17 Year Old Beneficiaries of COVID Vaccination Centre (CVC) of a Tertiary Hospital in New Delhi

Introduction: India started its nationwide vaccination campaign on 16th January 2021 for the vulnerable population and for the 15 years to 17 Years olds on 3rd January 2022. The purpose of this study is to understand the adolescent’s perceptions of COVID-19 vaccination, preferences, willingness, concerns. Methodology: It was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire which was used to assess the socio-demographic profile, knowledge and attitude regarding COVID-19 infection and vaccines. The study subjects included the first thousand COVID vaccine adolescent recipients at a COVID vaccination center in VMMC and Safdarjung hospital, New Delhi. Results: A very positive attitude was noticed regarding the vaccine as almost all (99.6%) of the participants admitted to the willingness to recommend the COVID-19 vaccination to others as well. Almost all (99.47%) correctly answered the questions about COVID-19 vaccines of the national program. Conclusion: A high proportion (99.5%) of the participants had knowledge about COVID – 19 vaccines but 60% were unaware about the possibility of breakthrough infection. This can be targeted while educating adolescents regarding vaccination. Also, most of the adolescents were influenced by the social media and therefore it can be used to launch health campaigns online to disseminate knowledge especially through the social media to improve the reach to the adolescent age group.