High rate of COVID-19 vaccination intent among IBD populations
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
A relatively high rate of COVID-19 vaccination intent was observed among inflammatory bowel disease populations; however, long-term safety concerns were common, according to study results.
“Targeting outreach and educational interventions toward subpopulations less likely to have vaccination intent may facilitate COVID-19 vaccination efforts,” Rahul S. Dalal, MD, and colleagues wrote in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Between Dec. 22, 2020, and Jan. 26, 2021, Dalal and colleagues recruited two adult IBD populations. One cohort included 2,914 patients from the Crohn’s and Colitis Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the other included a population identified via gastroenterology and IBD-specific social media.
Investigators created an anonymous survey to evaluate demographics, IBD history, influenza vaccination status, and concerns as well as intentions regarding COVID-19 vaccination. In total, 906 patients completed the survey. The survey asked patients if they would receive vaccine when available, will receive but at a later time, undecided or would not receive it. People who were hesitant were asked for potentials reasons.
Intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as available served as the primary outcome. Researchers used multivariable logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios of factors linked to vaccination intent .
Survey response was 8.1% among local participants. Investigators noted self-reported influenza vaccination rates differed by population (92% local vs. 76.3% social media).
For the local population, the rate for COVID-19 vaccination intent was 80.9% vs. 60% for the social media population.
“The hesitant participants most commonly selected ‘concern that long-term safety of vaccines is unknown’ (64.4% local, 70.1% SM) and ‘prefer to see how others tolerate vaccine first’ (62.2% local, 55.6% SM),” Dalal and colleagues wrote. “Approximately 70% desire data regarding vaccine safety/efficacy among patients with IBD.”
Results from multivariable analysis showed age over 50 years and having a bachelor’s degree significantly correlated with vaccination intent for local patients. Among the social media population, white race, having a bachelor’s degree, self-reported prior COVID-19 infection and current biologic therapy significantly correlated with vaccination intent.
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts