POS1187 WILLINGNESS TO GET THE COVID-19 VACCINE AMONG PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES, HEALTH WORKERS AND GENERAL POPULATION
Authors: B. Yurttas, B. C. Poyraz, N. Süt, A. Ozdede, M. Oztas, Ö. F. Tabak, V. Hamuryudan, E. Seyahi
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: As of January 2021 the COVID-19 pandemic has been responsible for more than 2.2 million deaths worldwide (1). Potential vaccines against COVID-19 have been developed swiftly and vaccination programs were started in many countries. Turkey agreed to use inactivated vaccine candidate, ‘CoronaVac’ produced by Chinese biopharmaceutical company (3). Many of our patients having a rheumatic diseases (RD) call us for permission to get vaccination, while some express their concerns about the efficacy and safety issues. Objectives: We therefore assessed the willingness to get vaccination among patients with RD compared to health workers and a sample from general population. Methods: A web-based questionnaire study was conducted in a cross-sectional design in 3 groups of participants: 1. patients with RD, 2. hospital workers and 3. General population. The questionnaire sought socio-demographic variables, COVID-19 related risk factors, willingness to get vaccination, and concerns and thoughts about vaccine. COVID-19 related anxiety (CAS) was also evaluated through the questionnaire. Results: We studied in total 732 (258 M/ 474 F) patients with RD, 320 (88 M/ 232 F) hospital workers and 763 (258 M/ 505 F) individuals representing general population. Patients with RD were significantly older and less educated and spent less time using social media compared to both control groups (Table 1). CAS scores were similar between the study groups. Of the patients with RD, 29.2% were willing to be vaccinated, 19% were unwilling and 51.8% were undecided. These were similar among the general population (34.6%, 23.3% and 42.1%, respectively), whereas hospital workers were significantly more willing (52.5%, 20.9% and 26.6%, respectively) (p&lt;0.0001). About a third in each group thought that vaccination should be obligatory.The major concerns associated with vaccine were fear from side effects, unknown scientific results and lack of confidence. Being male, older age, working in a hospital and increased anxiety levels were found to be independently associated with willingness. Conclusion: Only about one third of the patients with RD were willing to get vaccination, which was somewhat similar to that observed among the general population. This could be due to rushed vaccine development as well as negative news on vaccines on the social media. Our study also reveals that, after almost one year after the pandemic, about 95% in all study groups did not express dysfunctional anxiety related with COVID-19. References: [1] https://covid19.who.int/ [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-26/turkey-signs-accord-with-biontech-for-coronavirus-vaccine Table 1. Socio-demographic and COVID-19 associated variables, anxiety scores and willingness to get vaccination Patients with RD (n=732) Hospital workers (n = 320) General population (n =763) P Male/ Female, n 258/474 88/232 258/505 0.045 Age, mean ± SD, years 42.8 ± 11.6 37.0 ± 10.0 40.8 ± 12.0 &lt;0.001 Primary/middle school education, n (%) 225 (30.7) 6 (1.9) 28 (3.7) &lt;0.001 ≤ 1 hour daily spent using social media, n (%) 270 (36.9) 100 (31.3) 192 (25.2) &lt;0.0001 COVID-19 related anxiety, total score, mean ± SD 1.62 ± 3.03 1.81±2.64 1.55±2.71 0.389 COVID-19 related anxiety, cut off value of ≥ 9, n (%) 36 (5.1) 13 (4.2) 29 (4.0) 0.626 COVID-19 diagnosis in the participant (n %) &lt;0.0001 Yes 104 (14.2) 69 (21.6) 70 (9.2) No 617 (84.3) 248 (77.5) 687 (90.0) Unsure 11 (1.5) 3 (0.9) 6 (0.8) COVID-19 diagnosis among the household or close friends, n (%) &lt;0.0001 Yes 460 (62.8) 244 (76.3) 435 (57.0) No 254 (34.7) 76 (23.8) 317 (41.5) Unsure 18 (2.5) 0 11 (1.4) Presence of any comorbid disease, n (%) 304 (41.5) 67 (20.9) 181 (23.7) &lt;0.0001 History of psychiatric disorder, n (%) 177 (24.2) 51 (15.9) 110 (14.4) &lt;0.0001 Willingness to get vaccination (n %) &lt;0.0001 Yes 214 (29.2) 168 (52.5) 264 (34.6) No 139 (19.0) 67 (20.9) 178 (23.3) Unsure 379 (51.8) 85 (26.6) 321 (42.1) Do you think that vaccination should be obligatory? n (%) 0.003 Yes 216 (29.5) 113 (35.3) 207 (27.1) No 277 (37.8) 136 (42.5) 331 (43.4) Unsure 239 (32.7) 71 (22.2) 225 (29.5) Disclosure of Interests: None declared.