Vaccinations Status against Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Willingness to Be Vaccinated in an Italian Sample of Frail Subjects

Abstract

Background: Study aim was to investigate the vaccination status against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) of frail adults during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and, for those subjects eligible for at least one vaccine, with respect to the recommended vaccination in line with the Italian National Vaccination Prevention Plane (NPVP), to explore the willingness to be vaccinated. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among adults aged ≥ 60, immunocompromised or subjects affected by chronic conditions. Results: Among the 427 participants, a vaccination coverage rate lower than the targets for all the vaccines considered was found. Of those, 72.6% of subjects stated their willingness to receive recommended vaccinations, and 75.2% of the respondents stated that the advice to undergo vaccinations was received by the General Practitioner (GP). In a multivariable logistic regression model, higher odds of recommended VPD vaccination uptake (defined as having two or more of the recommended vaccinations) were associated with the willingness towards recommended VPD vaccination (Odds Ratio = 3.55, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.39 to 9.07), university education (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.03 to 3.97), but having another person in the household (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.97), and history of oncological disease (OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.18 to 0.87) were predictive of lower odds of vaccination uptake. In another multivariable model, higher odds of willingness to receive vaccines were associated with kidney disease (OR = 3.3, 95% CI: 1.01 to 10.5), perceived risk of VPD (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.02 to 3.3), previous influenza vaccination (OR = 3.4, 95% CI: 1.8 to 6.5), and previous pneumococcal vaccination (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.3 to 7.7), but increasing age (OR = 0.93 per year, 95% CI: 0.91 to 0.97), working (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.20 to 0.78), and fear of vaccine side effects (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.68) were predictive of lower odds of willingness to receive vaccines. Conclusions: Despite specific recommendations, vaccination coverage rates are far below international targets for frail subjects. Reducing missed opportunities for vaccination could be a useful strategy to increase vaccination coverage in frail patients during the routine checks performed by GPs and specialists.

Short-Term Adverse Effects Following Booster Dose of Inactivated-Virus vs. Adenoviral-Vector COVID-19 Vaccines in Algeria: A Cross-Sectional Study of the General Population

“…Surprisingly, in our study, age, chronic diseases, and BMI were not associated with the development of side effects. In fact, elderly individuals and those with chronic diseases and high BMI are known to be characterized by weak immune-system reactions, confirming previous results of multiple studies that reported that people in these categories developed adverse effects less frequently than those in other age groups [45][46][47][48].…”

Influenza and pneumococcal vaccine prescription for adults during COVID-19 first wave in three regions of Argentina

“…Difficulties in access to care for chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic have been pointed out as “the other side of the coin” of this global problem, generating an additional burden on the health systems [1] , [2] . Other authors have reported changed in influenza and pneumococcal vaccination during COVID-19 pandemic [12] , [13] , [14] , which had been due to multiple causes. Interestingly, in two of these studies [13] , [14] an increase in the attempt to uptake a pneumococcal vaccine has been observed.…”

“…Given the fact that there were no problems with vaccine supplies during the period analyzed, other factors are needed to explain the lack of adherence to these important prevention strategies. Accordingly, a recent systematic review analyzed the barriers to vaccine access in Latin America [12] . The authors found that many factors influence this issue, including economic, financial, educational and cultural barriers, and low confidence in the efficacy and safety of vaccines among the main obstacles.…”

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Coverage of Recommended Vaccinations in Individuals with Chronic Medical Conditions: A Cross-Sectional Telephone Survey in Italy

“…However, a critical aspect is the patients’ adherence; there are several motivations behind the decision making to not get vaccinated, such as safety and efficacy concerns, low perceived risk of illness, lack of knowledge, and lack of information [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. To the best of our knowledge, the number of studies in the current literature that have been conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of the recommended vaccines among individuals with chronic medical conditions in Italy are lacking [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Since it is important to fill the gap in the literature and considering that this understanding is crucial to increase vaccine uptake among this population, the objectives of the present cross-sectional survey were to investigate the level of knowledge, the attitudes, and the coverage with respect to recommended vaccines against seasonal influenza, pneumococcal, meningococcal, and HZ among patients with chronic medical conditions in Italy and to determine the influencing factors.…”