Attitudes toward a COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination status in cancer patients: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Purpose We aim to assess attitudes toward a COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination status in cancer patients and to explore additional factors such as the level of information and comprehensibility and accessibility of this information, anxiety symptoms in general and toward COVID-19, and general health literacy. Methods We included 425 outpatients (mean age 61.4, age range 30–88 years, 60.5% women) of the Psychosocial Counseling Center for Cancer patients of the Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Leipzig. We recorded attitudes toward a COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination status via self-report. The impact of psychosocial factors, including anxiety (GAD-7), COVID-19-specific anxiety (OCS; FCV-19S) and health literacy (HLS-EU-Q16) were analyzed with point-biserial correlations using Pearson’s r. Results We found that the vast majority (95.5%) reported being vaccinated against COVID-19 and that overall trust in safety and protective effects of a COVID-19 vaccine was high (90.9%). The vaccination readiness among nonvaccinated cancer survivors was low to very low with “fear of side effects” the most mentioned (72.2%) reason against a COVID-19 vaccine. There was no significant correlation between vaccination status and fear or anxiety symptomatology, and health literacy. Obsessive thoughts about COVID-19 was significantly higher in nonvaccinated cancer patients. Conclusions Majority of respondents are positive about COVID-19 vaccine, accompanied by a very high rate of COVID-19 immunization in our sample. Further studies with a larger sample of nonvaccinated cancer patients should further investigate the relationship on fear and vaccination hesitancy and align communication strategies accordingly.

Attitude towards and perception of individual safety after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among German cancer patients

“…Our results demonstrate that willingness to get a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is high among German cancer patients and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is well tolerated in this sensitive cohort. This is in line with previously published national (Heyne et al 2022 ) and international (Brodziak et al 2021 ; Chun et al 2021 ; de Sousa et al 2022 ) data on cancer patients’ acceptance of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The rate of acceptance of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in our cohort exceeds the German national average that has been previously reported at 60–70% (Neumann-Böhme et al 2020 ; Lindholt et al 2021 ).…”

“…While acceptance of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is generally high among cancer patients (Barrière et al 2021 ; Brodziak et al 2021 ), it is overall rather moderate in Germany (Neumann-Böhme et al 2020 ; Bendau et al 2021 ; Holzmann-Littig et al 2021 ; Lindholt et al 2021 ; Umakanthan and Lawrence, 2022 ). However, little is known about the attitude of German cancer patients towards and their experience with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (Heyne et al 2022 ).…”

Serious underlying medical conditions and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

“…Despite confirmation of vaccine safety in multiple studies in high risk populations without detrimental effect on underlying disease, 15 22 concerns about vaccine effect on disease stability and interactions with current treatment were commonly cited as reasons for vaccine non-acceptance in our study, supporting the findings of smaller studies in cancer and autoimmune disease. 6 18 19 28 The high prevalence of vaccine-related efficacy and safety concerns, even in a highly vaccinated and vaccine-accepting population is worthy of noting, particularly with growing data supporting the requirement for booster doses. 15 16 This underscores a significant information gap for people with underlying illnesses, especially addressing the interaction of COVID-19 vaccination with their disease course and therapy.…”

“…Educational programs for health care providers are also imperative, based on the high proportion of our participants who valued their physician’s recommendations on COVID-19 vaccines, in line with other studies. 6 18 28 To date however, there is a paucity of formal guidance and specific training for clinicians, manifesting as patients reporting receiving conflicting advice from different clinicians. 30 The DIVAS-6 scale was designed to be easily administered at the point of care to facilitate discussions directed to individual concerns.…”

Attitudes toward a COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination status in cancer patients: correspondence

“…We would like to share ideas on the publication “Attitudes toward a COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination status in cancer patients: a cross-sectional survey” (Heyne et al 2022 ). Heyne et al concluded that “ Majority of respondents are positive about COVID-19 vaccine, accompanied by a very high rate of COVID-19 immunization in our sample (Heyne et al 2022 )”. The attitude towards COVID-19 is an important factor determining the acceptance of vaccination.…”