The Current Status of Vaccine Uptake and the Impact of COVID-19 on Intention to Vaccination in Patients with COPD in Beijing

Abstract

Background

SARS-CoV-2 tends to cause more severe disease in patients with COPD once they are infected. We aimed to investigate the rates of influenza, pneumococcal and COVID-19 vaccination uptake in patients with COPD and to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread vaccination against COVID-19 had any impact on the intention to accept influenza vaccines in these patients.

Methods

We conducted a multi-center and cross-sectional survey in seven tertiary hospitals in Beijing and consecutively recruited outpatients with COPD from June 1st to July 30th, 2021. The survey included patient’s clinical characteristics, uptake of influenza, pneumococcal and COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine knowledge, attitude towards vaccines, and the change of intention to receive influenza vaccination after COVID-19 epidemic and COVID-19 vaccination in Beijing.

Results

A total of 264 patients were enrolled. The rate of COVID-19 vaccination during the study period was 39.0%. The rates of influenza vaccination in the past season and pneumococcal vaccination in the past year were 22.7% and 5.7%, respectively. Of the patients who had not received COVID-19 vaccination (n = 161), only 16.2% reported that COVID-19 vaccination was recommended by clinicians, while 23.5% had no knowledge regarding COVID-19 vaccination. About 51.1% of the patients reported that their intention to receive influenza vaccination was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccination was independently associated with a positive change in intention to receive influenza vaccination.

Conclusion

The coverage rate of COVID-19 vaccination among patients with COPD in Beijing was 39.0%, and that of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination was very low. The COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign showed a significant, positive impact on patients with COPD in terms of influenza vaccination. Improving awareness of the effectiveness and safety of vaccines among both healthcare professionals and patients could increase vaccination coverage in patients with COPD.

Keywords:

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• vaccines
• COVID-19
• knowledge
• attitude

Data Sharing Statement

The data that supports the findings of this study will not be shared openly with other third parties due to contractual statements related to intellectual property, confidentiality, and proprietary rights.

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

The study protocol was approved by the Independent Ethics Committee of the Peking University Third Hospital (IRB00006761-M2021379) which was the primary research institution of the present study. Informed consent was obtained from the patients or their close relatives. This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Author Contributions

All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval for the version to be published; and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 81700039].