The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination among medical students worldwide. Three electronic databases, i.e., PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WoS), were used to collect the related studies according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The study population included undergraduate medical students who had already been vaccinated reported in original articles published between January 2020 and December 2021. The heterogeneity of results among studies was quantified using the inconsistency index I2. Publication bias was assessed by using Egger's test. Six cross-sectional studies with 4118 respondents were included in this study. The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination was 61.9% (95% CI, 39.7-80.1%). There were no statistical differences between gender and vaccination acceptance, 1.038 (95% CI 0.874-1.223), and year of study and vaccination acceptance, 2.414 (95% CI, 0.754-7.729). The attitudes towards compulsory vaccination among healthcare workers can be determined by a prevalence of 71.4% (95% CI, 67.0-75.4%). The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination among medical students was at a moderate level. Placing a greater emphasis on prevention seems essential in the medical curriculum.
Keywords: COVID-19; medical students; meta-analysis; prevalence; vaccination.