THE DISEASE INFLUENCED VACCINE ACCEPTANCE SCALE-SIX: VALIDATION OF A MEASURE TO ASSESS DISEASE-RELATED COVID-19 VACCINE ATTITUDES AND CONCERNS

Introduction Despite people with underlying comorbidities being particularly vulnerable to poor outcomes from SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccine hesitancy remains problematic. There are no scales that measure disease or treatment-related vaccine concerns. Methods We developed a six-item scale assessing disease-related COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and concerns (The Disease Influenced COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Scale: DIVAS-6). A survey incorporating the DIVAS-6 was completed by 4683 participants with severe and/or chronic illness (3560 cancer;842 diabetes;281 multiple sclerosis). The survey included the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Scale, the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence and Complacency Scale, demographic, diseaserelated and vaccination status questions. Results Six items were loaded onto two factors, disease complacency and disease-related vaccine vulnerability. Cronbach's alpha was 0.73 and 0.85 respectively. Measurement invariance analysis showed the two factors displayed psychometric equivalence across the patient groups. Each factor significantly correlated with the two Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine scales, showing convergent validity. The summary score showed good-to-excellent vaccination status discriminative ability (95% CI .77-.80). Conclusions This is the first validated scale measuring disease-related COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and concerns and should assist with guiding information delivery about COVID-19 vaccination in medically vulnerable populations.

EXAMINING COVID-19 VACCINATION STATUS AND VACCINE HESITANCY IN PEOPLE WITH BLOOD CANCERS

Introduction People with blood cancers are prioritised to receive COVID-19 vaccination. However, it is unclear how prevalent vaccine hesitancy is in this group. This analysis investigated vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy in people with blood cancers in Australia. Methods An online survey was conducted at nine health services in Australia from June to October 2021. Participant demographics and vaccination status were recorded. Vaccine hesitancy was assessed using the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (OHS). Regression was used to examine whether clinico-demographic factors predicted the OHS score and vaccination status. Results Of the 869 participants, the mean age was 64.2 years, and 43.6% (n = 379) were female. A high proportion of participants had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose (85.3%, n = 741). Increasing age, speaking English as a first language, attending a regional health service, longer time since diagnosis and not currently receiving treatment were associated with being vaccinated. Participants who reported higher vaccine hesitancy were younger in age, more likely to have vocational qualifications and speak English as a second language. Conclusions There is a high rate of vaccination uptake in patients with blood cancers. However, younger patients and patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds appear to have lower vaccination uptake rates and higher levels of vaccine hesitancy. Tailored counselling may reduce the risk of adverse events due to COVID-19 infection.

Coronavirus conspiracy beliefs, mistrust, and compliance with government guidelines in England

BACKGROUND: An invisible threat has visibly altered the world. Governments and key institutions have had to implement decisive responses to the danger posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Imposed change will increase the likelihood that alternative explanations take hold. In a proportion of the general population there may be strong scepticism, fear of being misled, and false conspiracy theories. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of conspiracy thinking about the pandemic and test associations with reduced adherence to government guidelines. METHODS: A non-probability online survey with 2501 adults in England, quota sampled to match the population for age, gender, income, and region. RESULTS: Approximately 50% of this population showed little evidence of conspiracy thinking, 25% showed a degree of endorsement, 15% showed a consistent pattern of endorsement, and 10% had very high levels of endorsement. Higher levels of coronavirus conspiracy thinking were associated with less adherence to all government guidelines and less willingness to take diagnostic or antibody tests or to be vaccinated. Such ideas were also associated with paranoia, general vaccination conspiracy beliefs, climate change conspiracy belief, a conspiracy mentality, and distrust in institutions and professions. Holding coronavirus conspiracy beliefs was also associated with being more likely to share opinions. CONCLUSIONS: In England there is appreciable endorsement of conspiracy beliefs about coronavirus. Such ideas do not appear confined to the fringes. The conspiracy beliefs connect to other forms of mistrust and are associated with less compliance with government guidelines and greater unwillingness to take up future tests and treatment.