Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
Division of Mental Health and Neurosciences, St John's Research Institute, Bangalore, India ; and.
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2021 Dec 15;88(5):421-425. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000002803.
The global effort to end the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus 2 pandemic will depend on our ability to achieve a high uptake of the highly efficacious vaccines in all countries. India recently experienced an unprecedented transmission surge, likely fueled by a premature reopening, the highly transmissible delta variant, and low vaccination rates. Indian media have reported high degrees of vaccine hesitancy, which could interfere with efforts to prevent future surges, making it crucial to better understand the reasons for such reluctance in vulnerable populations, such as people living with HIV.
We conducted telephone interviews with 438 people living with HIV who were participants in a longitudinal cohort, designed to examine and validate novel antiretroviral therapy ART adherence measures. Interviews were conducted in January and February 2021 and covered COVID-19-related questions on confidence in vaccine safety and efficacy, worries of vaccine side effects, trust in COVID-19 information from specific sources, and intent to get vaccinated.
Over one-third of participants (38.4%, n = 168) met our definition of "vaccine hesitant" by reporting being either unlikely to get vaccinated at all or wanting to wait. Vaccine hesitancy was associated with lack of confidence in vaccine safety, concerns about side effects and efficacy, and distrust in common sources of vaccine-related information.
These results highlight several challenges for vaccination efforts. Campaigns may benefit from using trusted sources, including antiretroviral therapy center staff, providing clear information about safety and efficacy and emphasizing the role of vaccines in preventing severe disease, hospitalizations and death, and the reduction of forward transmission to unvaccinated household members.
全球终结严重急性呼吸综合征-冠状病毒 2 大流行的努力将取决于我们在所有国家实现高效疫苗高接种率的能力。印度最近经历了一次前所未有的传播高峰，可能是由于过早重新开放、高传染性的德尔塔变种和低疫苗接种率所致。印度媒体报道了高度的疫苗犹豫，这可能会干扰预防未来疫情的努力，因此，了解弱势群体（如艾滋病毒感染者）出现这种犹豫的原因至关重要。
我们对参加纵向队列研究的 438 名艾滋病毒感染者进行了电话访谈，该研究旨在检验和验证新的抗逆转录病毒治疗（ART）依从性措施。访谈于 2021 年 1 月和 2 月进行，涵盖了与疫苗安全性和有效性信心、对疫苗副作用的担忧、对特定来源的 COVID-19 信息的信任以及接种疫苗的意愿等相关的 COVID-19 问题。
超过三分之一的参与者（38.4%，n=168）根据我们的定义，报告说他们要么根本不太可能接种疫苗，要么想要等待，这表明他们存在“疫苗犹豫”。疫苗犹豫与对疫苗安全性缺乏信心、对副作用和疗效的担忧以及对常见疫苗相关信息来源的不信任有关。
这些结果突出了疫苗接种工作面临的一些挑战。疫苗接种运动可能会受益于利用包括抗逆转录病毒治疗中心工作人员在内的受信任的来源，提供有关安全性和疗效的明确信息，并强调疫苗在预防重症、住院和死亡以及减少对未接种疫苗的家庭成员的传播方面的作用。
