Infectious Disease

Fear of side effects, rheumatic diseases are the main reasons for the hesitation about the COVID-19 vaccination

November 22, 2021

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Danila MI. Abstract 0617. Presented at: ACR Convergence 2021; 5-9 November 2021 (virtual meeting).

Disclosure:
Danila reports on professional relationships with Pfizer, AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Horizon, Novartis and WebMD. Please refer to the study for all relevant financial information from the other authors.

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In a survey of racial and ethnic minorities with rheumatic diseases in Alabama, the top reasons cited for reluctance to get COVID-19 vaccination were fear of side effects and disease flare-ups, according to data presented at the 2021 ACR Convergence became.

Overall, one in ten patients surveyed said they were unlikely to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Of those who had not yet been vaccinated, half said they had not been offered the vaccine. Maria I. Danila, MD, MSc, MSPH, at the University of Alabama’s Birmingham Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, said during a virtual press conference.

When the vaccination program was launched in Alabama, there were concerns about the lack of access to vaccination and that the legacy of medical distrust would further exacerbate health inequalities. Source: Adobe Stock

“At the beginning of the pandemic it became clear that patients belonging to racial and ethnic minorities were more likely to be disproportionately affected by COVID-19. And then, when the vaccine program was launched in Alabama, there was great concern about the lack of access to vaccination and that the legacy of medical distrust would further exacerbate health inequalities, “she said.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a large tertiary medical center serving a diverse socio-economic population, Danila said.

Maria I. Danila

“Our patients, like many other rheumatism sufferers, are immunocompromised or have additional medical conditions that put them at higher risk for worse COVID-19 results,” said Danila.

To analyze concerns and beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine and the factors associated with its administration in racial and ethnic minority patients with rheumatic diseases, Danila and colleagues conducted a survey of people who were in person between April and April Visits to UAB were on May 19 and 6, 2021. A total of 150 patients volunteered to take the survey, 94% of whom identified themselves as Black or African American.

The confidence in the COVID-19 vaccination was assessed using the confidence scale of the validated psychological 5C processes of the vaccination. In addition, the researchers used descriptive statistics to summarize the attitudes and beliefs gathered about COVID-19 vaccination, as well as a multivariable logistic regression to determine the factors associated with vaccination. The survey included information on age, gender, education, vaccine confidence, safety concerns, medical suspicions, and previous receipt of flu vaccines.

Although 81% of participants said they had previously received the flu vaccine, only two-thirds said they had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Of the 50 participants who had not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine, only half were offered the vaccine, while a third said they would not plan to vaccinate.

The most common reasons for avoiding the COVID-19 vaccine included concerns about side effects – cited by 56% of participants – and fear of the disease flaring up – cited by 53%. In addition, 32% said they knew someone who had had a bad experience with the vaccine, 21% shared concerns that they would get COVID-19 from the vaccine, and 18% feared that the vaccine would “modify” their DNA according to the researchers.

Participants who had not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine expressed a need for information about its effectiveness and safety in people with rheumatic diseases. After the multivariable adjustment, older age, no safety concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, previous flu shot, and higher vaccine confidence were associated with COVID-19 vaccination.

There was no association between reporting medical suspicions and receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. However, 22% of participants said they would have received better medical care if they were of a different race or ethnic group.

“Our study showed that about one in ten people from ethnic and ethnic minorities who attended the rheumatology clinic in the deep south had not received a vaccine in early April 2021 and that about half of them were actually not offered a vaccine. “Said Danila. “We believe this research will influence us further because we believe our results will provide additional information that may influence the development of interventions that can improve COVID-19 vaccination rates and reduce health inequalities, especially in subpopulations that are traditionally at a high level. “higher risk of health inequalities.”

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Annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology

Annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology

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