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MacEwan SR, Rahurkar S, Tarver WL, Gaughan AA, Rush LJ, Schamess A, McAlearney AS. COVID-19 vaccination perspectives among patients with Long COVID: A qualitative study. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2024; 20:2327663. [PMID: 38532547 PMCID: PMC10978020 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2327663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Individuals who have Long COVID may have unique perspectives about COVID-19 vaccination due to the significant impact that COVID-19 has had on their lives. However, little is known about the specific vaccination perspectives among this patient population. The goal of our study was to improve our understanding of perspectives about COVID-19 vaccines among individuals with Long COVID. Interviews were conducted with patients receiving care at a post-COVID recovery clinic. Deductive thematic analysis was used to characterize participant perspectives according to the vaccine acceptance continuum framework, which recognizes a spectrum from vaccine acceptance to refusal. From interviews with 21 patients, we identified perspectives across the continuum of vaccine acceptance. These perspectives included acceptance of vaccines to prevent future illness, concerns about vaccine side effects on Long COVID symptoms, and refusal of vaccines due to perceived natural immunity. A limitation of our study is that these perspectives are specific to individuals receiving care at one post-COVID recovery clinic. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that some patients with Long COVID are uncertain about COVID-19 vaccines and boosters but may also be amenable to conversations that impact future vaccination acceptance. Patient perspectives should be considered when communicating recommendations for COVID-19 vaccinations to this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah R. MacEwan
- Division of General Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Saurabh Rahurkar
- Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Willi L. Tarver
- Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Alice A. Gaughan
- Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Laura J. Rush
- Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Andrew Schamess
- Division of General Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Ann Scheck McAlearney
- Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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Grady CB, Bhattacharjee B, Silva J, Jaycox J, Lee LW, Monteiro VS, Sawano M, Massey D, Caraballo C, Gehlhausen JR, Tabachnikova A, Mao T, Lucas C, Peña-Hernandez MA, Xu L, Tzeng TJ, Takahashi T, Herrin J, Güthe DB, Akrami A, Assaf G, Davis H, Harris K, McCorkell L, Schulz WL, Grffin D, Wei H, Ring AM, Guan L, Cruz CD, Iwasaki A, Krumholz HM. Impact of COVID-19 vaccination on symptoms and immune phenotypes in vaccine-naïve individuals with Long COVID. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.01.11.24300929. [PMID: 38260484 PMCID: PMC10802754 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.11.24300929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Background Long COVID contributes to the global burden of disease. Proposed root cause hypotheses include the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 viral reservoir, autoimmunity, and reactivation of latent herpesviruses. Patients have reported various changes in Long COVID symptoms after COVID-19 vaccinations, leaving uncertainty about whether vaccine-induced immune responses may alleviate or worsen disease pathology. Methods In this prospective study, we evaluated changes in symptoms and immune responses after COVID-19 vaccination in 16 vaccine-naïve individuals with Long COVID. Surveys were administered before vaccination and then at 2, 6, and 12 weeks after receiving the first vaccine dose of the primary series. Simultaneously, SARS-CoV-2-reactive TCR enrichment, SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses, antibody responses to other viral and self-antigens, and circulating cytokines were quantified before vaccination and at 6 and 12 weeks after vaccination. Results Self-report at 12 weeks post-vaccination indicated 10 out of 16 participants had improved health, 3 had no change, 1 had worse health, and 2 reported marginal changes. Significant elevation in SARS-CoV-2-specific TCRs and Spike protein-specific IgG were observed 6 and 12 weeks after vaccination. No changes in reactivities were observed against herpes viruses and self-antigens. Within this dataset, higher baseline sIL-6R was associated with symptom improvement, and the two top features associated with non-improvement were high IFN-β and CNTF, among soluble analytes. Conclusions Our study showed that in this small sample, vaccination improved the health or resulted in no change to the health of most participants, though few experienced worsening. Vaccination was associated with increased SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein-specific IgG and T cell expansion in most individuals with Long COVID. Symptom improvement was observed in those with baseline elevated sIL-6R, while elevated interferon and neuropeptide levels were associated with a lack of improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor B Grady
- Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Bornali Bhattacharjee
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Julio Silva
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jillian Jaycox
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Valter Silva Monteiro
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Mitsuaki Sawano
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Daisy Massey
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - César Caraballo
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jeff R Gehlhausen
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Tianyang Mao
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Carolina Lucas
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Mario A Peña-Hernandez
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Lan Xu
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Tiffany J Tzeng
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Takehiro Takahashi
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jeph Herrin
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Athena Akrami
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, UK
- Patient-Led Research Collaborative
| | | | | | | | | | - Wade L Schulz
- Center for Infection and Immunity, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Daniel Grffin
- Department of Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, New York
| | | | - Aaron M Ring
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Leying Guan
- Center for Infection and Immunity, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Charles Dela Cruz
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Center for Infection and Immunity, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Akiko Iwasaki
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Center for Infection and Immunity, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland
| | - Harlan M Krumholz
- Center for Infection and Immunity, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
- Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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3
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Sadat Larijani M, Bavand A, Banifazl M, Ashrafian F, Moradi L, Ramezani A. Determination of COVID-19 Late Disorders as Possible Long-COVID and/or Vaccination Consequences. J Prim Care Community Health 2024; 15:21501319241251941. [PMID: 38708693 DOI: 10.1177/21501319241251941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
In this era in which the vast majority of the global population have developed COVID-19 infection and/or got vaccinated against it, identification of the late disorders as the vaccines' side effect or long-COVID manifestation seems essential. This study included the vaccinated individuals of 4 different vaccine regimens including inactivated virus-based, subunit protein, and adenovirus-based vaccines in a follow-up schedule 6-month post the booster shot. All the documented vaccine adverse events were thoroughly assessed considering the cases' medical history by Adverse Events Committee of Pasteur Institute of Iran. Totally 329 individuals who got 3 doses of vaccination were followed 6 months after the booster shots among whom 41 (12.4%) cases with the mean age of 40.9 ± 10.48 years had a type of disorder. Gynecological and osteoarticular involvements were the most common recorded disorders of which 73.1% were possibly linked to vaccination outcomes and the rest were affected by both long-COVID-19 and vaccination. Notably, the average time of symptoms persistence was 155 ± 10.4 days. This study has the advantage of long-term follow-up which presents various forms of late events in each episode of COVID-19 infection and vaccination. About 26.8% of people with persistent complications suffered from both long-COVOD/ vaccination in whom the differentiation between the vaccine side effect and long-COVID manifestation was quite challenging. Long-term follow-up studies in large population seems essential to outline the role of long-COVID and vaccination regarding persistent complications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anahita Bavand
- Clinical Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Banifazl
- Iranian Society for Support of Patients With Infectious Disease, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Ashrafian
- Clinical Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ladan Moradi
- Clinical Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amitis Ramezani
- Clinical Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
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Dopelt K, Yukther S, Shmukler T, Abudin A. Vaccine Hesitancy in Israel: Exploring the Relationships with Vaccination History, Knowledge, and Attitudes towards Influenza Vaccines. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ 2023; 14:37-48. [PMID: 38248123 PMCID: PMC10814916 DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe14010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Influenza vaccination is a highly effective strategy for mitigating all the repercussions of influenza infections. Despite the potential severity of influenza and the accessibility of secure vaccinations, worldwide rates of influenza vaccination continue to be low, particularly among students. This study examines the correlative relationships between influenza vaccine history, knowledge, attitudes toward influenza vaccines, and vaccine hesitancy among college students. To that end, we used an online questionnaire to conduct a cross-sectional study encompassing 610 students. A significant majority of participants reported having experienced influenza (82%), with slightly more than half having received influenza vaccinations in the past (57%). With respect to the current research year, health sciences students exhibited a higher likelihood of either having been vaccinated or intending to receive the vaccine than did their counterparts. Among students who had been vaccinated previously, approximately one-fifth opted for vaccination in the present year (21%). Similarly, 22% of the students whose parents were vaccinated chose to get vaccinated this year. Notable disparities in knowledge about influenza vaccines were observed across various departments, with health sciences students demonstrating the highest levels of awareness. Moreover, a negative relationship was found between knowledge, attitudes, and vaccine hesitancy. These results suggest that targeted lectures by professionals emphasizing vaccine safety and university-hosted events addressing this subject in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, incorporating influenza vaccination stations, could be instrumental in bolstering the vaccination rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Dopelt
- Department of Public Health, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon 78211, Israel
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Sophie Yukther
- Department of Public Health, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon 78211, Israel
| | - Tatyana Shmukler
- Department of Public Health, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon 78211, Israel
| | - Anuar Abudin
- Department of Public Health, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon 78211, Israel
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5
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Huang LL, Hong WW, Hu WW, Guan XH, Jiang YH. Understanding factors affecting Chinese medical staff's fear of receiving the fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine: A cross-sectional study in Taizhou. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2023; 19:2261201. [PMID: 37920885 PMCID: PMC10627059 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2023.2261201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The study was conducted to assess medical staffs' fear of receiving the fourth dose of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. From December 17, 2022, to January 31, 2023, an online survey was conducted to assess the fear among medical staffs regarding the administration of the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The participants were exclusively drawn from a tertiary grade hospital in Taizhou. Out of the 1, 832 medical staffs invited to participate in the questionnaire, a total of 613 (33.5%) provided valid responses for subsequent analysis. Among them, 81 (13.8%) expressed fear of receiving the fourth dose of COVID-19. The fear was significantly influenced by these factors: the presence of serious food/drug allergic reactions (OR = 3.84, 95% CI: 1.40-10.52), received booster COVID-19 vaccine (OR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.11-0.35), opinion on vaccination requirement (OR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.11-0.35), viewpoint (OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.12-0.44) with scores ≥10, and positive attitude toward vaccination (OR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.13-0.35). Our study revealed that a subset of medical staffs still harbor apprehension toward receiving the fourth dose of the new COVID-19 vaccine. Factors influencing this fear encompass allergic reactions, booster COVID-19 vaccine, as well as opinion, viewpoint, and attitude toward vaccination. Educating medical staffs on these factors may help mitigate their fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Li Huang
- Department of Emergency, Taizhou First People’s Hospital, Taizhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wei-Wen Hong
- Department of Anus & Intestine Surgery, Taizhou First People’s Hospital, Taizhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wei-Wei Hu
- Department of General Surgery, Taizhou First People’s Hospital, Taizhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xian-Hua Guan
- Intensive Care Unit, Taizhou First People’s Hospital, Huangyan, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yan-Hong Jiang
- Department of Outpatient, Taizhou First People’s Hospital, Taizhou, Zhejiang, China
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Morgan J, Wagoner JA, Pyszczynski T. Psychosocial Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and the Mediating Role of Various Attitudes towards Science. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1310. [PMID: 37631878 PMCID: PMC10459256 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11081310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
This study examined the way attitudes towards science in the U.S. mediate the relationship between COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and psychosocial predictors, such as political ideology, religiosity, reactance proneness, dogmatism, perceived communal ostracism, education, and socioeconomic status. We analyzed the structure of people's attitudes towards science, revealing four distinct factors: epistemic confidence, belief that science and technology are beneficial, trust in science in general, and trust in medical science. With all four factors included as mediators in a saturated path analysis, low levels of trust in medical science and low epistemic confidence fully mediated the relationships between nearly all of the psychosocial predictors and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Political conservativism's negative association with vaccine hesitancy was partially mediated by the same two facets of people's attitudes towards science. Adding nuance to existing research, we found that trust in science in general was not a significant mediator once all four facets were included in the model. These findings are discussed with a focus on their implications for understanding attitudes towards science and their substantial and complex role in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Morgan
- Psychology Department, University of Colorado, 1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy, Colorado Springs, CO 80919, USA (T.P.)
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Cala F, Tarchi P, Frassineti L, Gursesli MC, Guazzini A, Lanata A. Eye-tracking correlates of the Implicit Association Test. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2023; 2023:1-4. [PMID: 38082676 DOI: 10.1109/embc40787.2023.10340147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Raising awareness of environmental challenges represents an important issue for researchers and scientists. As public opinion remains ambiguous, implicit attitudes toward climate change must be investigated. A custom Single-Category Implicit Association Test, a version of the Implicit Association Test, was developed to assess climate change beliefs. It was administered to 20 subjects while eye movements were tracked using a smart glasses system. Eye gaze patterns were analysed to understand whether they could reflect implicit attitudes toward nature. Recurrence Quantification Analysis was performed to extract 13 features from the eye-tracking data, which were used to perform statistical analyses. Significant differences were found between target stimuli (words related to climate change) and bad attributes in reaction time, and between target stimuli and good attributes in diagonal length entropy, suggesting that eye-tracking may provide an alternative source of information to electroencephalography in modeling and predicting implicit attitudes.
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8
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Shakhmurov VB, Kurulay M, Sahmurova A, Gursesli MC, Lanata A. Interaction of Virus in Cancer Patients: A Theoretical Dynamic Model. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:bioengineering10020224. [PMID: 36829718 PMCID: PMC9952378 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10020224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
This study reports on a phase-space analysis of a mathematical model of tumor growth with the interaction between virus and immune response. In this study, a mathematical determination was attempted to demonstrate the relationship between uninfected cells, infected cells, effector immune cells, and free viruses using a dynamic model. We revealed the stability analysis of the system and the Lyapunov stability of the equilibrium points. Moreover, all endemic equilibrium point models are derived. We investigated the stability behavior and the range of attraction sets of the nonlinear systems concerning our model. Furthermore, a global stability analysis is proved either in the construction of a Lyapunov function showing the validity of the concerned disease-free equilibria or in endemic equilibria discussed by the model. Finally, a simulated solution is achieved and the relationship between cancer cells and other cells is drawn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veli B. Shakhmurov
- Department of Industrial Engineering, Antalya Bilim University, Ciplakli Mahallesi Farabi Caddesi 23 Dosemealti, Antalya 07190, Turkey
- Center of Analytical-Information Resource, Azerbaijan State Economic University, 194 M. Mukhtarov, Baku AZ1001, Azerbaijan
| | - Muhammet Kurulay
- Department of Mathematics Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul 34225, Turkey
| | - Aida Sahmurova
- Department of Nursing, Antalya Bilim University, Ciplakli Mahallesi Farabi Caddesi 23 Dosemealti, Antalya 07190, Turkey
| | - Mustafa Can Gursesli
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Via Santa Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy
- Department of Education, Literatures, Intercultural Studies, Languages and Psychology, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - Antonio Lanata
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Via Santa Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during Pandemic. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11010147. [PMID: 36679992 PMCID: PMC9864985 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11010147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The epidemic control approach was based on non-pharmacological measures in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by vaccine uptake in the second year. Vaccine uptake depends on the individual attitude toward vaccination. The aim was to assess the changes in attitudes regarding COVID-19 vaccine protection during the pandemic and to determine the vaccination uptake concerning these attitudes. A panel study on COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and vaccination against COVID-19 was conducted in Belgrade, Serbia. The first survey was carried out in May−June 2020, and the second survey was organized in August−September 2021. During the baseline testing performed in 2020, 64.4% of respondents believed that the future vaccine against COVID-19 could protect against the COVID-19 disease, while 9.7% thought that it could not, and 25.9% were unsure. One year later, in the second survey, the percentage of participants with positive attitudes was slightly lower (64.7% vs. 62.5%). However, negative attitudes turned positive in 34% of cases, and 28.9% became unsure about vaccine protection (p < 0.001). Out of the 390 participants included in the study, 79.7% were vaccinated against COVID-19 until follow-up. There is a statistically significant difference in vaccination uptake compared to the baseline attitude about the protection of the COVID-19 vaccine. The main finding of our study is that the majority of participants who were vaccine hesitant during the baseline testing changed their opinion during the follow-up period. Additionally, the baseline attitude about the protection of the COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be a potential determinant of vaccination uptake.
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