Krebs Nicolle M, D'Souza Gail, Bordner Candace, Allen Sophia I, Hobkirk Andrea L, Foulds Jonathan, Yingst Jessica M
Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
Tob Use Insights. 2021 Dec 20;14:1179173X211068027. doi: 10.1177/1179173X211068027. eCollection 2021.
Novel mRNA vaccines have been developed and were first distributed to high-risk individuals (including smokers) in the United States starting in December 2020 to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Over one-half of the U.S. adult population has received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, but many others have reported hesitation about becoming vaccinated. We examined COVID-19 vaccine uptake and hesitancy from a convenience sample of Pennsylvanian adult smokers in April 2021, approximately 3 months after tobacco users were eligible to receive vaccination in the state. Participants (n = 231) were 23.4% male, 90.5% white, and had a mean age of 48.1 (SD = 11.9) years. All participants were current tobacco users, with the majority reporting current cigarette smoking (90.9%) with an average of 16 (SD = 8.1) cigarettes smoked per day. Nearly 60% (n = 137) reported receiving at least 1 dose of the vaccine and of those who did not (n = 94), 84% (n = 79) said they were somewhat or very unlikely to get a vaccine. Those who were unvaccinated were more likely to not consume news about COVID-19 (chi-square -value < .01) and less likely to believe government news sources as reliable information for COVID-19 (chi-square -value < .01). Qualitative responses among those who were vaccine hesitant expressed concerns about the lack of research on the vaccine, distrust of the safety of the vaccine, and fears about side effects. Understanding vaccine hesitancy among tobacco users can help develop targeted communication strategies and directly address concerns to promote vaccination among this population who may be at an increased risk of severe complications from COVID-19.
新型mRNA疫苗已研发出来，并于2020年12月开始在美国首先分发给高危人群（包括吸烟者）以抗击新冠病毒（COVID-19）大流行。超过一半的美国成年人口已接种至少一剂COVID-19疫苗，但也有许多人表示对接种疫苗犹豫不决。我们于2021年4月对宾夕法尼亚州成年吸烟者的便利样本进行了调查，以了解COVID-19疫苗的接种情况和犹豫态度，此时距离该州烟草使用者有资格接种疫苗约3个月。参与者（n = 231）中男性占23.4%，白人占90.5%，平均年龄为48.1（标准差 = 11.9）岁。所有参与者均为当前吸烟者，大多数报告当前吸烟（90.9%），平均每天吸16支（标准差 = 8.1）香烟。近60%（n = 137）报告接种了至少一剂疫苗，而未接种的人群（n = 94）中，84%（n = 79）表示他们不太可能或非常不可能接种疫苗。未接种疫苗的人更不太可能关注COVID-19相关新闻（卡方值 <.01），也不太可能将政府新闻来源视为COVID-19的可靠信息（卡方值 <.01）。对接种疫苗持犹豫态度者的定性回答表达了对疫苗缺乏研究的担忧、对疫苗安全性的不信任以及对副作用的恐惧。了解烟草使用者中的疫苗犹豫情况有助于制定有针对性的沟通策略，并直接解决相关担忧，以促进这一可能因COVID-19而出现严重并发症风险增加人群的疫苗接种。
