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. 2022 Nov 3;7(1):e2101.
doi: 10.1002/hep4.2101. eCollection 2023 Jan 1.

Leveraging COVID-19 vaccination to promote hepatitis C screening

Aaron Vanderhoff  1   2 , David Smookler  1   2 , Mia J Biondi  1   2 , Scott Enman  3 , Tintin Fuliang  1 , Sana Mahmood  1 , Agustina Crespi  1 , Maria Marquez  1   2 , Rafique Van Uum  1 , Lucy You  1 , Brett Wolfson-Stofko  1   2 , Renee Logan  4 , Erin LeDrew  4 , Hemant Shah  1   2 , Harry Janssen  1   2 , Camelia Capraru  1   2 , Elisa Venier  3 , Jordan J Feld  1   2
Affiliations

Leveraging COVID-19 vaccination to promote hepatitis C screening

Aaron Vanderhoff et al. Hepatol Commun. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Health care initiatives, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening, have been greatly overshadowed by the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, COVID-19 vaccination programs also provide an opportunity to engage with a high volume of people in a health care setting. We collaborated with a large COVID vaccination center to offer HCV point-of-care testing followed by dried blood spot collection for HCV RNA. Additionally, this opportunity was used to evaluate the practical significance of a 5-minute version of the OraQuick HCV antibody test in lieu of the standard 20-minute test. We tested 2317 individuals; 31 were HCV antibody positive and six were RNA positive of which four were treated and reached sustained virological response. Over a third of those surveyed said they would not have participated had the test required 20 minutes. Conclusion : Colocalizing HCV testing and linkage to care at a COVID vaccination clinic was found to be highly feasible; furthermore, a shortened antibody test greatly improves the acceptance of testing.

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Conflict of interest statement

VIRCAN receives support from Gilead Sciences Inc., AbbVie, Merck Canada Inc., and OraSure Technologies Inc./KNS Canada Inc. The funding sources had no influence on the study design, data collection, analysis, data interpretation, writing of the report, or decision to submit for publication. Mia Biondi has received speaker/advisory board honoraria from AbbVie and Gilead; research funding from AbbVie, Gilead, and Specialty Rx Solutions; and is a contractor for Omega Specialty Nurses and McKesson Canada. Jordan Feld has received honoraria and/or research support from AbbVie and Gilead. Hemant Shah has received honoraria and/or research support from AbbVie, Gilead, and Intercept. Harry Janssen has received honoraria and/or research support from AbbVie and Gilead. The other authors have nothing to report.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Workflow and results. (A) Testing steps and linkage to care. (B) Participation in the program. (C) HCV Ab and RNA results. Ab, antibody; DBS, dried blood spot; HCV, hepatitis C virus; LTFU, loss to follow‐up; POCT, point‐of‐care testing; VIRCAN, Viral Hepatitis Care Network.
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