Infectious Disease
Updated COVID-19 vaccines receive mixed support among health care professionals online
October 24, 2023
2 min read
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Key takeaways:
- Some HCPs cited the lack of a clinical emergency and potential side effects for their caution.
- Other HCPs, however, supported the vaccines because of COVID-19 disease severity and lower risk for hospitalization.
An analysis of online conversations among health care professionals on social media during September revealed mixed reactions toward newly updated messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccines.
Health care professionals (HCPs) were torn on the FDA’s Sept. 11, 2023, approvals of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s updated booster vaccines.
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Some cited the lack of a clinical emergency to justify the approvals, whereas others raised concerns around the possible side effects on some population groups. Others, however, were proponents of the booster vaccines, highlighting the severity of the disease and the importance of vaccinations to avoid hospitalization.
In addition to Moderna and Pfizer’s updated mRNA COVID-19 booster vaccines, the analysis showed two other spikes in online conversation among HCPs.
The FDA’s Sept. 22 approval of Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance (empagliflozin) drove an increase in mentions. The sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor reduces the risk of sustained decline in estimated glomerular filtration rates and hospitalization in adults with chronic kidney disease. HCPs were nuanced in their opinions surrounding the approval, but despite this, news of the approval was widely shared.
The approval of GSK’s Ojjaara (momelotinib) on Sept. 15 to treat patients with intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis with anemia also drove a second spike in mentions. Ojjaara is a once-a-day, oral JAK1/JAK2 and activin A receptor type 1 inhibitor. HCPs were enthusiastic about the approval. Many cited the drug’s potential to change clinical practice and expressed their eagerness to see the drug approved in the United Kingdom and European Union.
The findings form part of a wider study by leading digital insights consultancy, Creation Healthcare, and are based on an analysis of 2,379 English-language posts on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, by 1,555 HCPs throughout September 2023 surrounding the approval and launch of new products.
The analysts found that fewer HCPs discussed treatment approvals compared with the previous month, with 14% fewer product launch mentions compared with those in August.
Over the period, the three most shared stories from HCPs discussing product launches included an FDA press release on the updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster approval, a New England Journal of Medicine article on “The Accelerated Approval Program for Cancer Drugs — Finding the Right Balance,” and a GSK press release on the approval of Ojjaara for patients with myelofibrosis and anemia.
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