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. 2022 Sep 15;10(9):1530.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines10091530.

COVID-19 Vaccination Status and Hesitancy among Breast Cancer Patients after Two Years of Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Weijing Liu  1 , Yunhao Wu  1 , Ruoning Yang  1 , Ruixian Chen  1 , Ya Huang  1 , Xin Zhao  1 , Min Xie  2 , Qintong Li  3 , Qiang Wang  2 , Jie Chen  1
Affiliations

COVID-19 Vaccination Status and Hesitancy among Breast Cancer Patients after Two Years of Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Weijing Liu et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Patients with cancer show greater susceptibility and vulnerability to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. However, data on the vaccination status among patients with breast cancer and any structured analysis of the factors influencing patients’ decisions regarding vaccines are lacking. Methods: This cross-sectional study on patients with breast cancer in China was conducted from 1 June 2022, to 17 June 2022. Every participant completed an online questionnaire about their vaccination status and any adverse reactions, and a scale based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) to assess the vaccination status of respondents and their willingness to receive following doses or boosters. Results: Among the 1132 participants, 55.2% had received a COVID-19 vaccine. The incidence of adverse events per dose was around 40%. Vaccine hesitancy of 61.9% was observed among patients who had not fully received three doses of vaccine or boosters. The only variable found to be associated with vaccine hesitancy was time since diagnosis (p < 0.05). In the HBM scale, vaccine hesitancy was closely related to a low level of perceived susceptibility, a low level of perceived benefit, a high level of perceived barriers and a low level of agreement with doctors’ advice. Conclusions: For patients with breast cancer, perceived susceptibility, benefits and barriers should be prioritized, and the advice from authoritative doctors is a vital cue to action.

Keywords: COVID-19; adverse event; booster vaccination; breast cancer; vaccine hesitancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose and have no financial relationships with any biomedical companies.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Self-reported Adverse Events among Vaccinated Patients. (A) Incidence of adverse events within and after 48 h for each dose. (B) Incidence of specific adverse events within 48 h for each dose in reported cases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Willingness regarding future doses/boosters in all <3 doses group, non-vaccinated group and vaccinated group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Patients perceived vaccine hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine (Based on Healthy Belief Model).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) of comparing the rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy within participants with different items. Statistically significant results (p < 0.05) are in bold font.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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