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Abstract

Hispanic/Latine people in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 (Longoria, et al., 2021) Though rates in vaccination have increased, Hispanic/Latine groups are less likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine (Longoria, et al., 2021). Further, they disproportionately present as vaccine hesitant. Students are currently at risk to develop COVID-19 due to the re-opening of in-person classes, travel between home and class, and communal living arrangements on and off campus (Sharma, et al., 2021). Consequently, the current work explores vaccine hesitancy in Hispanic/Latine, college undergraduates aged 18+ via seven semi-structured interviews. Interviews were manually coded, and emergent themes include medical mistrust and not knowing, conceptions of time, social influences, and Latinidad, fear and alternative medicine. Not knowing was the primary driver of hesitancy and came in varying forms despite vaccination status. Students felt they did not know about COVID-19 vaccine development and side effects and felt many uncertainties due to rumors and inconsistent information from the CDC. Students also felt the COVID-19 vaccine was developed too quickly, which was also seen despite vaccine statuses. Social influences from friends, family, and physicians were significant. Only non-vaccinated students cited reliance on alternative medicine as a cultural practice. Students generally would have felt more comfortable receiving the vaccine if there was more transparency and communication regarding the vaccine. There should be individual and population-based efforts to increase vaccination rates, reduce medical mistrust, and disseminate accurate health information to students of color. Dissecting the ways not knowing interacted with the other themes can work toward improving health outcomes for Hispanic/Latine students with proper cultural considerations in a post-COVID world.

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