Prof. Dr. Amina Kurtović-Kozarić, full professor of genetics at the Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, has conducted extensive research on “COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and rejection in an adult population in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. This study is the result of a very productive collaboration between IBU alumni who are currently pursuing master's degrees in Graz and Vienna (Adnan Fojnica, Zehra Gromilić and Armin Fejzić), as well as other IBU alumni (Imer Muhović and Nermin Djuzić) and IBU professors Amina Kurtović-Kozarić and Ensar Mekić.
The study was published in PLOS ONE (Impact Factor 3.2, Q1), a renowned scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) since 2006. The study was designed to test the willingness of the general public to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We surveyed 10471 adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess the acceptance or rejection of participants toward COVID-19 vaccination. Surprisingly, only 25.7% of respondents indicated they would like to get a COVID-19 vaccine, while 74.3% of respondents were either hesitant or completely rejected vaccination. The vaccine acceptance increased with increasing age, education, and income level. For the first time in Bosnia, vaccine acceptance among health care professionals has been reported, where only 39.4% of healthcare professionals expressed willingness to get vaccinated”, explained professor Kurtović-Kozarić.
The article will be available on https://journals.plos.org/plosone/