ABSTRACT
Background and aim: COVID-19 vaccination campaign represents the most relevant way to overcome the pandemic. COVID-19 vac-cines have been developed at the fastest known pace yet;such a fast production has led to concerns among general population wor-ldwide about safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. Specifically, patients affected by chronic illnesses, such as Celiac Disease (CeD), may have greater apprehension. The immune status of CeD patients has been studied in literature, however the actual risk of infections is not clear, depending on various factors such as suboptimal nutri-tional status. Information on vaccine hesitancy plays a pivotal role in the development of an efficient vaccine campaign. In our study, we aimed at evaluating COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among CeD patients, its reasons and determinants. Materials and methods: An anonymous validated questionnaire formulated on the EUSurvey web platform was sent to a mailing list of CeD patients followed at our “Celiac Center” of Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of Milan. The questions focused on socio-demographic data, disease-related and lifestyle data, attitude to vaccinations in general and predisposition to the COVID-19 vaccine. Hesitancy was defined by a negative answer to the question “Would You accept to get vaccinated tomorrow against COVID-19?”. Among the hesitant, COVID-19 vaccine refusing patients were defined as those who answered negatively to the fol-lowing question: “Would You eventually accept it in the future when more data is available?”. We evaluated the reasons and the factors associated (determinants) to hesitancy, by calculating Adjusted Odds Ratio (AdjOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The questionnaire was sent to 346 patients with a response rate of 29.8% (103). Among the respondents, 25.2% of patients were hesitant, with a total refusal rate of 4.8%. The main reason was the fear of adverse events (68.2%). Among the hesitant patients, 23% declared that their opinion was influenced by CeD. A positive atti-tude towards general vaccinations, a perceived good knowledge about COVID-19 and related vaccines and the adherence to GFD were determinants significantly associated to vaccine willingness (respective AdjOR of 16.48, 95% C.I. 3.34–81.31;6.50, 95% C.I. 1.44–29.22;12.71, 95% C.I. 1.82–88.58).(figure presented) Conclusions: Most CeD patients would accept COVID-19 vaccines. Data on the reasons and the determinants of vaccine hesitancy plays a pivotal role in the development of an efficient vaccine campaign