Vaccine Hesitancy versus Vaccine Behavior in Patients with Chronic Illness

While vaccine hesitancy has been described for the general population, vaccine hesitancy among the chronically ill has not been well explored. This study assesses COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among individuals with chronic illness using nationwide survey data. We analyzed vaccine hesitancy prior to and after approval of the vaccines using multinomial logistic regression and binomial logistic regression, respectively. In the first survey, 39% reported they were unlikely or unsure about receiving the vaccine. In adjusted analyses, female sex, Black race, anti-vaccination attitudes, media mistrust, and not following the media were associated with vaccine hesitancy. Despite this hesitance, in the follow-up survey, 89% reported vaccine receipt, with those more fearful of COVID-19, with more trust in the media, and closely following the development of the vaccine were most likely to move from hesitance to acceptance. Vaccine hesitancy is a mutable characteristic, underscoring the need for high-quality public health messaging.