Attitudes and factors affecting decision‐making regarding COVID‐19 vaccination among autoimmune rheumatic disease patients

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundCoronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) vaccine hesitancy is a significant threat to the success of COVID‐19 vaccination programs.ObjectivesWe aimed to assess attitudes and factors affecting the decision‐making vis‐à‐vis COVID‐19 vaccination among patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs).MethodA cross‐sectional survey of adults with ARDs was conducted between January 2022 and April 2022. All enrolled ARDs patients were asked to answer a questionnaire about their attitudes regarding COVID‐19 vaccination.ResultsThree hundred patients were included with a female‐to‐male ratio of 2.5:1. The mean age of the patients was 49.2 ± 15.6 years. Around 37% of patients who hesitated to get the COVID‐19 vaccination were apprehensive regarding potential adverse events from the vaccine. About 25% (76 cases) were hesitant about vaccination, of which 15% were uncertain about the vaccine's efficacy, and 15% thought the vaccine was unnecessary because they lived in rural areas where they practiced social distancing. “Family role as a non‐working member” was the only factor strongly associated with hesitancy for vaccination (odds ratio of 2.42; 95% CI 1.06–5.57). The attitudes to vaccination showed that the patients were concerned about disease flaring and believed all medicine should be stopped before vaccination.ConclusionAround one‐quarter of ARDs sufferers hesitated to get COVID‐19 vaccination. In addition, some patients were disinclined to get vaccinated because they were worried about its efficacy and/or associated adverse events. The findings help healthcare providers plan to counter negative attitudes toward vaccination in ARDs patients to protect them during the COVID‐19 era.