The COVID-19 epidemic curve and vaccine acceptance among patients with rheumatic diseases: an ecological study

The attitudes toward emerging COVID-19 vaccines have been of great interest worldwide, especially among vulnerable populations such as patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the nationwide number of COVID-19 cases an...

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Published in:Rheumatology international 2023-07, Vol.43 (7), p.1253-1264
Main Authors: Gastelum-Strozzi, Alfonso, Flores-Alvarado, Diana Elsa, Pascual-Ramos, Virginia, Álvarez-Hernández, Everardo, Pacheco-Tena, César Francisco, Guaracha-Basáñez, Guillermo Arturo, García, Conrado García, González-Chávez, Susana Aideé, Moctezuma-Ríos, José Francisco, Manrique de Lara, Amaranta, Esquivel-Valerio, Jorge Antonio, Contreras-Yáñez, Irazú, Galarza-Delgado, Dionicio Ángel, Vázquez-Mellado, Janitzia, Peláez-Ballestas, Ingris, Reyes-Cordero, Greta Cristina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - epidemiology
Coronaviruses
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
COVID-19 Vaccines
Cross-Sectional Studies
Ecological studies
Female
Humans
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic - epidemiology
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Observational Research
Patients
Rheumatic Diseases - epidemiology
Rheumatology
Vaccination
Vaccines
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Summary:The attitudes toward emerging COVID-19 vaccines have been of great interest worldwide, especially among vulnerable populations such as patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the nationwide number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and vaccine acceptance or hesitancy of patients with RMDs from four patient care centers in Mexico. Furthermore, we explored differences in acceptance according to specific diagnoses: rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This ecological study was a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire to measure vaccine acceptance. We generated a global Likert scale to evaluate overall attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. We analyzed data from 1336 patients from March to September 2021: 85.13% (1169) were women, with a mean age of 47.87 (SD 14.14) years. The most frequent diagnoses were RA (42.85%, 559) and SLE (27.08%, 393). 635(47.52%) patients were unvaccinated, 253(18.93%) had one dose and 478(35.77%) had two doses. Of all participating patients, 94% were accepting toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine acceptance remained consistently high throughout the study. However, differences in vaccine acceptance are identified when comparing diagnoses. The peak of the national epidemic curve coincided with an increase in hesitancy among patients with RA. Contrastingly, patients with SLE became more accepting as the epidemic curve peaked. Mexican patients show high acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine, influenced in part by a patient’s specific diagnosis. Furthermore, vaccine acceptance increased mirroring the curve of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country. This should be taken into consideration when updating recommendations for clinical practice.
ISSN:1437-160X
0172-8172
1437-160X
DOI:10.1007/s00296-023-05334-1