 The study aimed to identify barriers to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among medical students in Kazakhstan and develop a scale for measuring hesitancy. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 888 students at Astana Medical University in March 2021, revealing that only 2 percent were currently vaccinated and 22.4 percent showed potential for acceptance. The most significant barriers to acceptance included concern about side effects, lack of sufficient evidence on effectiveness and safety, belief in the immune system coping with COVID-19 without vaccination, and lack of trust in vaccine effectiveness. Factors associated with acceptance included contextual influences, individual and group influences, and specific issues related to the vaccine vaccination. The study developed a 12-item 6-factor model for measuring COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy scale, C-O-V-V-H-S, that showed good validity and reliability. Overall, the study found low potential for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among medical students in Kazakhstan, highlighting the need for effective vaccination education and policy to combat the pandemic. This article was authored by Aidos K. Bolotov, Telman Z. Saizem Baikov, Altenay Z. Askarova and others. We are article.tv, links in the description below.