Jan Hamza, Waheeb Abdullah, AlAhwal Hatem, Almohammadi Abdullah, Al-Marzouki Adel, Barefah Ahmed, Bahashawan Salem, Radhwi Osman
Hematology, King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Medicine, Jeddah, SAU.
Hematology Research Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, Jeddah, SAU.
Cureus. 2022 Jan 8;14(1):e21026. doi: 10.7759/cureus.21026. eCollection 2022 Jan.
In the era of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the race toward shielding the public through vaccination is still going. Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) require special consideration given their medical needs and the common side effects of immunization, affecting their decision. Therefore, we aimed to assess the perception and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccination in this population and explore the possible factors when it comes to vaccination decisions.
The present cross-sectional phone interview study was conducted between May 10 and 20, 2021. The questionnaire was administered by the medical staff. The participants were all patients with SCD presented to King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results: Out of 346 patients, 147 patients agreed to participate. Only 52 (35.37%) patients received at least one dose of the nationally available vaccines, and there were no reported serious side effects. Among the unvaccinated participants, 45 patients (47.8%) were undecided. The most reported reasons for hesitancy were the fear of developing complications as their acquaintance had and the fear of developing brain blood clots post vaccination.
The number of vaccinated patients with SCD was unfortunately low in our study, secondary to hesitancy. This represents a significant barrier and needs to be tackled appropriately at any proper interaction with a patient with SCD. The absence of major side effects and vaso-occlusive crises is assuring.
在2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行时代，通过接种疫苗保护公众的竞赛仍在进行。镰状细胞病（SCD）患者因其医疗需求和免疫接种的常见副作用而需要特别考虑，这影响了他们的决策。因此，我们旨在评估该人群对COVID-19疫苗接种的认知和犹豫程度，并探讨疫苗接种决策时可能的影响因素。
本横断面电话访谈研究于2021年5月10日至20日进行。问卷由医务人员发放。参与者均为沙特阿拉伯吉达阿卜杜勒阿齐兹国王大学医院的SCD患者。结果：在346名患者中，147名患者同意参与。只有52名（35.37%）患者接种了至少一剂国内可用疫苗，且未报告严重副作用。在未接种疫苗的参与者中，45名患者（47.8%）尚未决定。最常报告的犹豫原因是担心像熟人那样出现并发症以及担心接种疫苗后出现脑部血栓。
在我们的研究中，不幸的是，接种疫苗的SCD患者数量较少，原因是存在犹豫情绪。这是一个重大障碍，在与SCD患者进行任何适当互动时都需要妥善解决。未出现重大副作用和血管闭塞性危机令人安心。
