Factors Impacting COVID-19 Vaccination Rates in PLWH

Age, gender, and the number of vaccines received in the past 3 years were factors significantly associated with receiving a COVID-19 vaccine among people living with HIV (PLWH), according to the results of a retrospective, observational study presented at IDWeek 2023.

Included were 300 PLWH who were being treated at an academic medical center in Memphis, TN within the 18-month study period from January 2021 to June 2022. Of the total participants, 82.67% (n = 248) were Black, 9.0% (n = 27) were White, 0.67% (n = 2) were Asian, and 7.67% (n = 23) were multiracial or of other race, with an average age of 47 years.

Further, 81.0% (n = 243) had retention in care, defined here as three3 visits within the study period with two2 of these visits being at least 6 months apart. A suppressed viral load was present in 81.29% (n = 239) of the participants, defined as less than 200 copies/mL of HIV RNA.

The results of the univariate analysis indicated that age, number of attended visits, retention in care, viral suppression, and number of prior vaccinations were associated with receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine. Age (odds ratio [OR] 1.07, p < 0.0001), number of influenza vaccinations within the past 3 years (OR 0.58, p = 0.03), and total number of vaccinations within the past 3 years (OR 2.29, p < 0.0001) were significant in the multivariable analysis.

Receipt of at least one1 COVID-19 vaccine was done in 69% (n = 207) of participants, with 62.33% (n = 187) being fully vaccinated (having received two doses of an mRNA vaccine or one adenovirus vector vaccine dose). The mean number of total vaccinations within the past 3 years was 4.61, whereas the mean number of influenza vaccinations in the same period was 1.64.

“Age and total number of vaccinations in the past 3 years were positively correlated with having at least one COVID vaccine,” the researchers concluded. “Number of influenza vaccinations in the past 3 years was negatively correlated with having at least one COVID vaccine. Further study is needed to identify targeted interventions to improve vaccine uptake in this population.”

Reference:

Kunkel VN, Summers NA, Singh N. Factors affecting COVID-19 vaccine uptake in people living with HIV. Poster presented at IDWeek 2023; October 11-25, 2023; Boston, MA. Accessed January 12, 2024. https://idweek.org/