An online lifestyle has become typical with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the number of infected patients in Japan has decreased significantly from its peak, concern remains about the seasonality of the infection and the possibility of variant strains. In this context, 10 medical students and Dr. Shigeru Omi, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Countermeasures against Novel Coronavirus Infections, held an online panel discussion on November 6, 2021.  First, the frailty of Japan’s testing system compared to other countries was highlighted. Although weekly testing for all citizens would be ideal, implementing efficient countermeasures with limited resources was emphasized.  Second, concern exists about other diseases because people are refraining from receiving necessary medical examinations for fear of being infected with COVID-19. Strengthening mass approaches using the media and personal approaches by health care professionals is essential.  Third, much false information exists on social networking sites and is being spread. The importance of suitable individual risk communication was suggested.  Finally, medical students mentioned the loss of experience due to restrictions on school attendance and club activities. Although medical students are treated differently in each country, increasing opportunities to discuss the purpose of medical education and whether online alternatives are possible were highlighted.  This was the first opportunity for a direct discussion between medical students, who have been greatly affected by COVID-19, and Dr. Omi, a policymaker. We hope that more such discussions will be possible, and that people’s opinions will be considered toward a better environment.

BACKGROUND: Before the COVID-19 vaccine became available, many Japanese people were undecided about whether or not to receive them. Their decisions were keys to achieving herd immunity. The impact of the type of information source on the COVID-19 vaccine uptake decision-making process remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between information source usage on COVID-19 and subsequent vaccine uptake status among those who have yet to decide whether to receive vaccines from non-prioritized people for vaccination. METHODS: Prospective cohort online self-administered surveys were conducted in February 2021 (T1), before the start of the mass vaccination program, and September-October 2021 (T2), when the vaccines were available to all citizens. The survey's target population was registered monitors of an Internet research company. Participants who answered "I want to get vaccinated after waiting to see how it goes." at T1 were eligible for analysis. The outcome variable was the COVID-19 vaccine uptake status in T2, and the predictors were 20 types of information sources, categorized based on people (family members, etc.), institutions (governments, etc.), or media (TV news, etc.). Adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using logistic regression adjusted for possible confounders. RESULTS: The 5,139 respondents, mean age and standard deviation was 42.8 ± 12.5, 55.7% female, were eligible for analysis. 85.7% completed vaccination (including reserved/intended people) in T2. In the multivariate logistic analysis, odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for vaccine uptake were 1.49 (1.18-1.89) for workplaces/schools, 1.81 (1.33-2.47) for LINE, 0.69 (0.55-0.86) for Internet news and 0.62 (0.48-0.82) for video sharing sites. CONCLUSIONS The type of information source usage played an important role in the decision to vaccinate against COVID-19. Although caution is needed in interpreting the results, obtaining information from workplaces/schools and LINE was influential in promoting immunization.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Information Sources ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Prospective Studies ; Intention ; Japan ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Vaccination