Colocation of COVID-19 Vaccination Services at Syringe Service Programs for People Who Inject Drugs and People Experiencing Houselessness in Oregon.

OBJECTIVES

Integrating vaccination services with other essential health services could increase vaccination rates among socially marginalized populations. We examined the associations between colocation of vaccines at syringe service programs and COVID-19 vaccination status among people who inject drugs and people experiencing houselessness.

METHODS

This study included 1891 participants aged ≥18 years at 9 sites in Oregon from July 2021 through March 2022. Participants self-reported whether they had ever received ≥1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. We calculated site-level COVID-19 vaccine availability and overall vaccination rates. We compared site-level vaccination rates and analyzed the association between vaccine availability and vaccination status.

RESULTS

We found no significant difference in vaccination rates between sites that did and did not offer COVID-19 vaccines ( = -0.33;  = .75). We also found no significant association between vaccine availability and vaccination status. However, the odds of having received a COVID-19 vaccine were 2.79 times higher for each additional site visit during which COVID-19 vaccines were available (odds ratio [OR] = 2.79; 95% CI, 2.18-3.58;  < .001). The association between vaccine availability and vaccine status was not moderated by participant age (OR = 1.03; 95% CI, 0.99-1.07;  = .13) or housing instability (OR = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.13-2.60;  = .48).

CONCLUSIONS

Colocating COVID-19 vaccines at syringe service programs was only positively associated with vaccination status if vaccines were offered frequently on-site. Future work should examine whether the frequency of offering vaccination services increases willingness to engage in vaccination and examine trust and convenience as potential mechanisms.