ABSTRACT
Background/Aims The UK coronavirus vaccination programme has been successful;by 8.10.21, 85% of those over 12 years had received the first dose of the vaccine and approximately 78% had received both doses. National guidance from British Society for Rheumatology recommends that all patients with rheumatic disease should receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine regardless of underlying diagnosis and treatment regime. Data highlight that in this group vaccine uptake can be significantly improved with physician recommendations and timely intervention. At the Royal Wolverhampton Trust (RWT, UK), we have previously described an innovative 8-minute web-based multimedia educational video sent via SMS-text messaging 21.12.20 to increase awareness of the recommendations and safety profile of the COVID vaccine in our cohort. A single-centre longitudinal study assessing the impact of COVID-19 on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in our rheumatology patients is ongoing (NCT04542031), which we used to explore the impact of our intervention. Methods Existing study participants were sent a 6-monthly SMS text message containing a linked web-based survey. This collects demographic profiles, including gender, ethnicity, underlying rheumatological conditions;vulnerability, vaccination status, and HRQOL scores. Patients were asked to rate the impact of the video: more likely to be vaccinated;less likely;no impact. Responses were collected 7-days following distribution. Results Surveys were sent 9.06.21 to 1636 patients;there were 628/1636 (38.3%) complete responses. Responders were mostly female (69%), Caucasian (96%), mean age 63years, most had an autoimmune rheumatic disease (75%) and half were clinically extremely vulnerable (47%);623/628 (99%) were vaccinated and 45/628 (7%) had contracted COVID since the beginning of the pandemic. In total 424/628 (68%) reported watching the educational video;422/468 (99%) reported receiving the vaccination. Of these 138/424 (32%) reported they were more likely to get the vaccine as a result, 285/424 (67%) reported it made no difference, and one patient (1%) reported that the video made them less likely to have the vaccine. Of the 5/628 (1%) non-vaccinated patients, reasons for not having the vaccine were concerns over vaccine side effects (2/5), and personal reasons including awaiting further vaccine data and awaiting home visit (3/5);2/5 had watched the video, both reported the video made no difference to their decision and none had contracted COVID. Conclusion In a research cohort of patients with rheumatic disease, following a targeted COVID-19 vaccine education video 32% were more likely to get the COVID vaccine, and the vast majority went on to be vaccinated. Within the limitations of a research study, these data contribute to evidence supporting the use of SMS technology to communicate key healthcare messages and targeted educational materials. Further research exploring the use of targeted educational materials and communications via SMS-text messaging could support in tackling vaccine hesitancy in this population. Disclosure H. Khatri: None. N. Cox: None. L. Rajagopala: None. J. Bateman: None.