Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2022

Exploring attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination in adults with haematological malignancies. (#394)

Richard Blennerhassett 1 2 , Nada Hamad 3 4 5 , Lisa Grech 6 , Cecily Forsyth 1 , Jacqueline Jagger 1 , Stephen Opat 6 7 , Samuel Harris 8 , Bryan Chan 9 10 , Alastair Kwok 6 11 , Mike Nguyen 6 11 , Nathan Bain 11 , Daphne Day 6 11 , Eva Segelov 6 11
  1. Central Coast Haematology, North Gosford, NSW, Australia
  2. School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
  3. Department of Haematology, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
  4. School of Clinical Medicine, Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia
  5. School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame Australia, Chippendale, NSW, Australia
  6. Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  7. Department of Clinical Haematology, Monash Health, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  8. Department of Medical Oncology, Bendigo Health, Bendigo, VIC, Australia
  9. Department of Oncology, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, Birtinya, QLD, Australia
  10. School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Birtinya, QLD, Australia
  11. Department of Oncology, Monash Health, Clayton, VIC, Australia

Aims: People with haematological malignancies (HM) are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection and death due to underlying immune deficiency and impaired vaccine responses. From March 2021, COVID-19 vaccination was offered to patients with HM, as part of the Australian COVID-19 vaccination rollout program. This study sought to ascertain whether vaccine hesitancy was a barrier to optimal vaccine uptake and explored the attitudes of people with HM towards COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: Between June and October 2021, an online survey was distributed to adults with HM at nine Australian health services. The survey collected sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and attitudes towards COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination using the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Scale, the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence and Complacency Scale, and the Disease Influenced Vaccine Acceptance Scale-Six (DIVAS-6).

Results: Of the 869 survey participants (mean age 64.2 years, 43.6% female), 741 (85.3%) reported receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Unvaccinated status was significantly associated with younger age, English as a non-dominant language, and shorter duration since diagnosis. Participants who were female or spoke English as their non-dominant language reported more negative attitudes towards vaccine side-effects. Unvaccinated participants were more likely to report greater concerns about the vaccine impacting on their HM and treatment (DIVAS-6 Vaccine Vulnerability subscale score: B (SE) = 2.71 (0.35), p<0.001). They were also more likely to report greater vaccine complacency (DIVAS-6 Disease Complacency subscale score: B (SE) = 1.79 (0.28), p<0.001).

Conclusions: People with HM reported high vaccine uptake, however, participants who are recently diagnosed with malignancy, female, younger age or for whom English is a non-dominant language may benefit from targeted education strategies to address their vaccine concerns. Clinicians are well-positioned to address their patients’ specific vaccine concerns and support the decision-making process, particularly with the need for COVID-19 vaccine boosters.