COVID-19 Vaccine Status, Intent, Hesitancy, and Disease-Related Beliefs in People with Multiple Sclerosis

Lisa Grech; Alastair Kwok; Mike Nguyen; Antony Winkel; Ernest Butler; Michelle Allan; Nathan Bain; Eva Segelov; On Behalf Of The Msvaccs Investigators

doi:10.3390/vaccines11020410

COVID-19 Vaccine Status, Intent, Hesitancy, and Disease-Related Beliefs in People with Multiple Sclerosis

Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Feb 10;11(2):410. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11020410.

Authors

Lisa Grech¹, Alastair Kwok^{1

2}, Mike Nguyen^{1

2}, Antony Winkel^{3

4}, Ernest Butler^{1

5}, Michelle Allan⁵, Nathan Bain², Eva Segelov^{1

2

6}, On Behalf Of The Msvaccs Investigators

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.
² Department of Oncology, Monash Health, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.
³ Department of Neurology, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, Birtinya, QLD 4575, Australia.
⁴ School of Medicine, Griffith University, Birtinya, QLD 4575, Australia.
⁵ Monash Neurology, Monash Health, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.
⁶ Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are susceptible to severe COVID-19 outcomes. They were included as a priority group for the Australian COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in early 2021. However, vaccine hesitancy remains a complex barrier to vaccination in this population group, which may be partly related to disease relapse concerns following COVID-19 vaccination. This study examined the COVID-19 vaccination status, intent, hesitancy, and disease-related beliefs in people with MS.

Methods: An online survey was conducted with people with MS receiving care at two Australian health services between September and October 2021. It collected sociodemographic and disease-specific characteristics and responses to validated scales that assessed vaccine hesitancy and general and MS-related vaccine beliefs.

Results: Of the 281 participants [mean age 47.7 (SD 12.8) years; 75.8% females], most (82.9%) had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Younger participants were less likely to be vaccinated, as were those within 1-5 years of disease duration. After controlling for age, disease duration was not associated with vaccination status. Unvaccinated participants were more likely to report less willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, higher vaccine complacency and lower vaccine confidence, greater MS-related vaccine complacency, and higher MS and treatment interaction concerns.

Conclusions: People with MS reported a high vaccination rate, despite general and MS-specific COVID-19 vaccine concerns. Greater MS-specific concerns were reported by those who indicated that their MS was not well-controlled and their MS impacted their daily activities. By understanding the factors that influence vaccine hesitancy and their interplay with MS disease course and treatment concerns, this can inform tailored interventions and educational messages to address these concerns in people with MS. Clinicians, governments, and community organisations are key partners in delivering these interventions and messages, as ongoing booster doses are needed for this vulnerable population.

Keywords: COVID-19; disease-related beliefs; multiple sclerosis; vaccine hesitancy; vaccine intent.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.