COVID-19 vaccination rates and factors affecting vaccination in children with rheumatic disease
Tuncay Aydın1
, Gülcan Özomay Baykal2, Cüneyt Karagöl3, Fatih Haşlak4, Ebru Oğultekin Vazgeçer5, Rüya Torun1, Zehra Kızıldağ1, Elif Kılıç Könte4, Esma Aslan4, Vildan Güngörer3, Banu Çelikel Acar3, Betül Sözeri2, Özgür Kasapçopur4, Balahan Makay1
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Türkiye
2Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Health Sciences University Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
3Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Health Sciences University Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye
4Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye
5Department of Pediatrics, Health Sciences University Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
Keywords: Child, COVID-19, rheumatic disease, vaccination.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rates and factors affecting vaccination in children with rheumatic diseases.
Patients and methods: This multicenter cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted between July 2022 and September 2022. Four hundred seventy-four patients (256 females, 218 males; median age: 15 years; interquartile range, 13 to 16 years) were included in the patient group, and 211 healthy children (124 females, 87 males; median age: 15 years; interquartile range, 13 to 16 years) were included in the control group. A questionnaire was administered to the parents face-to-face during routine outpatient visits.
Results: Of the patients, 220 were followed up with the diagnosis of autoinflammatory disease, 174 with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, 48 with connective tissue disease, 23 with vasculitis, eight with uveitis, and one with sarcoidosis. In the study group, 256 (54%) patients and 115 (54.5%) healthy children received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Parents' concern regarding potential side effects of the vaccine was the most common reason for COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in both groups. The median patient age, follow-up period, colchicine treatment rates, childhood vaccination and influenza vaccination rates, median parental age, parental vaccination rate, and parental education level were higher in vaccinated patients (p<0.05 for all). In addition, vaccination rates were high in patients who shared their concerns about vaccination with the rheumatology team (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Parents' concerns about safety and side effects were found to be the most important factors affecting vaccination success. Identification of the underlying causes of parental vaccine hesitancy will facilitate the development of effective vaccination strategies for potential future outbreaks.
Citation: Aydın T, Özomay Baykal G, Karagöl C, Haşlak F, Oğultekin Vazgeçer E, Torun N, et al. COVID-19 vaccination rates and factors affecting vaccination in children with rheumatic disease. Arch Rheumatol 2024;39(x):i-x. doi: 10.46497/ ArchRheumatol.2024.10356.