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. 2023 Jun 19;41(27):4002-4008.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.05.043. Epub 2023 May 24.

Predictors of Mpox vaccine uptake among sexual and gender minority young adults living in Illinois: Unvaccinated vs. double vs. single dose vaccine recipients

Michael G Curtis  1 , Shahin Davoudpour  2 , Anthony E Rodriguez-Ortiz  2 , Dylan Felt  2 , Audrey L French  3 , Sybil G Hosek  4 , Gregory Phillips 2nd  5 , Pedro A Serrano  6
Affiliations

Predictors of Mpox vaccine uptake among sexual and gender minority young adults living in Illinois: Unvaccinated vs. double vs. single dose vaccine recipients

Michael G Curtis et al. Vaccine. .

Abstract

Introduction: The 2022 global outbreak of Monkeypox virus (Mpox), which has primarily spread through the sexual networks of sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals, has introduced new public health challenges. While an efficacious Mpox vaccine is in active circulation, few Mpox vaccine studies have examined its uptake among SGM groups. The aims of this study were to investigate (a) the prevalence of Mpox vaccine uptake among SGM and (b) the contextual, Mpox-disease specific, and Mpox-vaccine specific factors associated with Mpox vaccine among SGM.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Illinois, USA in September 2022; 320 young SGM completed self-administered questionnaires. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the contextual, Mpox-disease specific, and Mpox-vaccine specific factors associated with Mpox vaccine uptake. Adjusted Odds Ratios (aORs) and 95 % Confidence Intervals (CI) are reported.

Results: Approximately 50 % of the SGM participants included in this study had received at least their first dose of the Mpox vaccine. Multinomial regression analysis showed that individuals who had recently experienced food insecurity, had higher degrees of fear of social rejection due to Mpox acquisition, and were more Mpox-vaccine hesitant were more likely to be unvaccinated. Conversely, knowing people who have contracted Mpox, having higher formal educational attainment, having higher degrees of Mpox-related internalized heterosexism, and being more concerned about one's safety regarding Mpox morbidity were more likely to be double-dosers.

Conclusion: Approximately 50 % of the SGMs included in this study received at least their first dose of the Mpox vaccine; however, only one-quarter of participants completed the recommended 2-dose Mpox regimen. Our findings indicate that socioeconomic stability, fear of social rejection due to disease acquisition, and Mpox-specific vaccine hesitancy may be important structural targets to consider when developing vaccine-uptake prevention and intervention strategies tailored to the needs of sexual and gender minorities.

Keywords: Monkeypox; Mpox; Sexual and gender minorities; Vaccine; Vaccine uptake.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

References

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