ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to evaluate the awareness of individuals over 65 years of age who have had the COVID-19 vaccine at the Samsun Research and Training Hospital and to evaluate whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected the vaccination behaviour in the geriatric age group. A total of 290 people who were vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Samsun Training and Research Hospital between 16 April 2021 and 16 April 2022 and volunteered to participate in the study were included. The questionnaire form was created by the researchers. According to the national and global guidelines, the seasonal influenza vaccine, Td or Tdap vaccines (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), shingles vaccine, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV15 or PCV20), have been recommended to all adults over the age of 65. It was questioned whether the participants had the vaccines recommended for them before and after the pandemic, if they were not vaccinated, what were the reasons, and whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected the general view on vaccination in this age group. Demographic data and comorbidities were also recorded. After each response that showed that the participant was not vaccinated, reasons were investigated with new questions to find out the causes of vaccine refusal or vaccine hesitancy. Finally, all participants were asked whether they would have the relevant vaccinations when offered. It was shown that 282 (94.3%) of the 299 people who participated in the study were considering getting a regular COVID-19 vaccine from now on, while 84.3% of the participants mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive effect on their general vaccination behaviour. While 39 (13%) people stated that their view on vaccination was not affected by the pandemic, 8 (2.7%) people stated that it was negatively affected. The most common reason about low vaccination rates before the pandemic was a lack of enough knowledge about the recommended vaccines. The pandemic increased the vaccination awareness among the adult population. We think that vaccination rates may be improved by education of the geriatric population on this subject.
ABSTRACT
The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which was detected in the Wuhan region of China in 2019 and spread rapidly all over the world, was declared a pandemic by the WHO in 2020. Since then, despite widespread recommendations to prevent the spread of the disease and provide treatment for sick people, 6,573,968 people died all over the world, 101,203 of which in Turkey. According to the international adult vaccination guidelines, pregnant women have been recommended to get vaccinated against the new coronavirus disease, as well as influenza and tetanus, during pregnancy. Before this study, not enough information was available about the vaccination awareness and vaccination hesitancy rates of pregnant women living in Turkey. For this reason, we believe that our study will contribute to filling this gap in the literature. The main objective of this study was to investigate the vaccination rates of pregnant women in a local hospital in Turkey and the reasons for vaccine hesitancy in this patient group. The minimum sample size of the study was found to be 241, with 80% power, 0.2 effect size, and 95% confidence interval, at p < 0.05 significance level. We included 247 consecutive pregnant women who applied to the Samsun Training and Research Hospital Gynecology and Obstetrics Outpatient Clinics between January 2022 and April 2022. The researchers prepared a questionnaire by taking into account the characteristics of the local community. A preliminary survey with these questions was also conducted before starting the main study. The mean age of the pregnant women participating in the study was 28.7 ± 5.3 years, and the mean gestational age was 28.2 ± 7.9 weeks. Among the participants, 26.3% were university graduates or had a higher degree, and 17% were actively working; in addition, 93 (37.7%) of the 247 pregnant women had received the COVID-19 vaccine, 203 (82.2%) had received at least one dose of the tetanus vaccine, and only 1 (0.4%) person had been administered the influenza vaccine during pregnancy. The most common reason for COVID-19 vaccine refusal and hesitancy was safety concerns, while the low rates of tetanus and influenza vaccination were due to a lack of knowledge. These results show that it is important to inform and educate the pregnant population on this subject to improve their vaccination behavior.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection might have a higher mortality rate in patients with end-stage renal disease due to immunosuppression. This study investigates the mortality rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the factors affecting mortality among patients who were on maintenance hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 200 patients, including 157 maintenance hemodialysis and 43 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients followed in our hospital, were included in the study. The patients' sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, history of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the previous year, death event, source of death (SARS-CoV-2 or not), presence of hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, need for intensive care unit, need for ventilatory support in intensive care unit were obtained from the clinical file records. RESULTS: 85 of the 200 patients had a history of SARS-Cov-2 infection during the last 12 months. Forty-two (49.5%) patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were hospitalized. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 had longer dialysis time, increased mortality, and significantly higher comorbidities such as coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure. Besides, heart failure and hypertension were the determining factors in the risk factor analysis for SARS-CoV-2 infection. In dialysis patients, the mortality rate in the last year, due to all causes, including SARS-CoV-2 infection, was 23% while the mortality rate due to "SARS-CoV-2 infection only" was 13%) (p > 0.05). Our findings are important in guiding clinical decision-making and informing the public and health authorities about the risk of death associated with COVID-19 in this patient group.