COVID-19 vaccination perception and uptake among cancer patients in Guangzhou, China

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of patients surveyed.

Variables	Total (N = 343) n (%)	Vaccinated (N = 75) n (%)	Not vaccinated (N = 268) n (%)	P value
Gender				.265
Male	191 (55.69)	46 (61.33)	145 (54.10)
Female	152 (44.31)	29 (38.67)	123 (45.90)
Age, year				.068
18-40	83 (24.20)	18 (24.00)	65 (24.25)
41-59	177 (51.60)	46 (61.33)	131 (48.88)
≥60	83 (24.20)	11 (14.67)	72 (26.87)
Residency (Guangzhou)				.028
Local residency	109 (31.78)	16 (21.33)	93 (34.70)
None local residency	234 (68.22)	59 (78.67)	175 (65.30)
Marital status				.299
Unmarried	24 (7.00)	7 (9.33)	17 (6.34)
Married	301 (87.76)	62 (82.67)	239 (89.18)
Divorce/separation/widower	18 (5.24)	6 (8.00)	12 (4.48)
Education				.011
High school or below	258 (75.22)	48 (64.00)	210 (78.36)
Bachelor or above	85 (24.78)	27 (36.00)	58 (21.64)
Occupation				.365
Full-time employment	96 (27.99)	27 (36.00)	69 (25.75)
Farmers	78 (22.74)	18 (24.00)	60 (22.39)
Students	8 (2.33)	2 (2.67)	6 (2.24)
Freelancers	64 (18.66)	12 (16.00)	52 (19.40)
Unemployed or retired	97 (28.28)	16 (21.33)	81 (30.22)
Income (CNY)				<.001
＜¥ 5000	231 (67.35)	35 (46.67)	196 (73.13)
≥¥ 5000	112 (32.65)	40 (53.33)	72 (26.87)
Current smoking status				.729
Yes	55 (16.03)	13 (17.33)	42 (15.67)
No	288 (83.97)	62 (82.67)	226 (84.33)
Current drinking status				.111
Yes	57 (16.62)	17 (22.67)	40 (14.93)
No	286 (83.38)	58 (77.33)	228 (85.07)
Cancer type				.521
Head and neck cancer	138 (40.23)	36 (48.00)	102 (38.06)
Respiratory and thoracic cancer	32 (9.33)	5 (6.67)	27 (10.07)
Digestive tract cancer	33 (9.62)	6 (8.00)	27 (10.07)
Breast cancer	51 (14.87)	8 (10.67)	43 (16.04)
Urogenital caner	4 (1.17)	1 (1.33)	3 (1.12)
Gynecologic cancer	43 (12.54)	12 (16.00)	31 (11.57)
Other type of cancer	42 (12.24)	7 (9.33)	35 (13.06)
Combined with chronic diseases				.160
Yes	105 (30.61)	18 (24.00)	87 (32.46)
No	238 (69.39)	57 (76.00)	181 (67.54)
Time since cancer diagnosis				<.001
<1 year	240 (69.97)	66 (88.00)	174 (64.93)
≥1 year	103 (30.03)	9 (12.00)	94 (35.07)
Ongoing treatment				<.001
Chemotherapy	19 (5.54)	11 (14.67)	8 (2.99)
Radiotherapy	27 (7.87)	8 (10.67)	19 (7.09)
Immunological and molecular-targeted therapy	5 (1.46)	1 (1.33)	4 (1.49)
Surgery	8 (2.33)	0 (0.00)	8 (2.99)
Multiple therapies	271 (79.01)	48 (64.00)	223 (83.21)
None	13 (3.79)	7 (9.33)	6 (2.24)

1USD ≈ 6.3 CNY.

Table 2. Knowledge about and attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine among cancer patients.

Variables	Total (N = 343) n (%)	Vaccinated (N = 75) n (%)	Not vaccinated (N = 268) n (%)	P value
Perception of the severity of SARS-CoV-2				.468
Severe	235 (68.51)	55 (73.33)	180 (67.16)
Moderate	72 (20.99)	12 (16.00)	60 (22.39)
Mild	5 (1.46)	2 (2.67)	3 (1.12)
No idea	31 (9.04)	6 (8.00)	25 (9.33)
Frequency of following information about the COVID-19 vaccine				.208
Frequently	201 (58.60)	45 (60.00)	156 (58.21)
Sometimes	117 (34.11)	28 (37.33)	89 (33.21)
Seldom or never	25 (7.29)	2 (2.67)	23 (8.58)
Source of COVID-19 information
TV programs	155 (45.19)	35 (46.67)	120 (44.78)	.771
Internet	172 (50.15)	37 (49.33)	135 (50.37)	.874
Newspaper	15 (4.37)	4 (5.33)	11 (4.10)	.646
Communication with friends and family	101 (29.45)	22 (29.33)	79 (29.48)	.981
Expert lectures	19 (5.54)	2 (2.67)	17 (6.34)	.219
Community advertising	139 (40.52)	37 (49.33)	102 (38.06)	.079
Recommendation from physicians				<.001
Disadvised*	71 (20.70)	6 (8.00)	65 (24.25)
Recommended	21 (6.12)	12 (16.00)	9 (3.36)
No recommendation^#	251 (73.18)	57 (76.00)	194 (72.39)
COVID-19 vaccine is safe for cancer patients				<.001
Yes	143 (41.69)	52 (69.33)	91 (33.96)
No	27 (7.87)	4 (5.33)	23 (8.58)
Not sure	173 (50.44)	19 (25.33)	154 (57.46)
Know the country’s recommendations for cancer patients				.054
Yes	119 (34.69)	19 (25.33)	100 (37.31)
No	224 (65.31)	56 (74.67)	168 (62.69)

* Disadvised: physicians tell patients not to get vaccinated; ^# No recommendation: physicians haven’t talked to patients about covid-19 vaccinations.

Table 3. Correlates of COVID-19 vaccination among cancer patients.

Variables	aOR (95% CI)	P value
Residency
Local residency	Ref	.050
None local residency	2.06 (0.99–4.22)
Education
High school or below	Ref	.727
Bachelor or above	0.87 (0.39–1.94)
Income (CNY)
＜5000	Ref	<.001
≥5000	3.94 (1.88–8.26)
Time since cancer diagnosis
<1 year	Ref	<.001
≥1 year	0.21 (0.09–0.51)
Ongoing treatment
Single treatment	Ref
Multiple therapies	0.34 (0.16–0.74)	.007
None	2.98 (0.74–12.02)	.125
COVID-19 vaccine is safe for cancer patients
Yes	Ref
No or not sure	0.21 (0.11–0.40)	<.001
Recommendation obtained by physicians
Disadvised	Ref
Recommended	11.71 (2.71–50.66)	.001
No recommendation	4.12 (1.52–11.15)	.005

1USD ≈ 6.3 CNY.

aOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Figure 1. Reasons to uptake and not to uptake COVID-19 vaccination among cancer patients in China. (a) uptake at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine; (b) not uptake any COVID-19 vaccine.

Table 4. Commonly reported side effects after COVID-19 vaccination among the 75 participants of the study who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Side effect	Adenovirus vector vaccine	Inactivated vaccine		Recombinant protein subunit vaccine
Dose	1 (n=6)	1 (n =66)	2 (n =40)	1 (n =3)	2 (n =3)	3 (n =1)
Swelling and pain at injection site	1 (16.67)	7 (10.61)	5 (12.50)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
Fever	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
Tiredness	1 (16.67)	3 (4.55)	2 (5.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
Myalgia	1 (16.67)	2 (3.03)	2 (5.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
Headache	1 (16.67)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
Runny nose	0 (0.00)	1 (1.50)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
Diarrhea	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
Allergies	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
Others	0 (0.00)	2 (3.03)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)
None	5 (83.33)	55 (83.33)	33 (82.50)	3 (100.00)	3 (100.00)	1(100.00)

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, HZ, upon reasonable request.