COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among French People Living with HIV

People living with HIV are a high-risk population concerning the coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) infection, with a poorer prognosis. It is important to achieve high COVID-19 vaccination coverage rates in this group as soon as possible. This project used self-reporting to assess vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among people living with HIV towards the novel COVID-19 vaccine. Sixty-eight (28.7%) participants among the 237 declared their hesitancy to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Participants who expressed concerns about their health (p < 0.001), the requirement of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination (p = 0.017), and their chronic disease status (p = 0.026) were independently associated with the acceptance of vaccination. Conversely, participants presenting general vaccine refusal (p < 0.001), concerns about the serious side effects of COVID-19 vaccines (p < 0.001), and those already thinking having an immune status to COVID-19 (p = 0.008) were independently associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Our results suggest that vaccine strategy would be more successful in France with a communication strategy emphasizing the collective benefits of herd immunity in the population living with HIV and reassuring patients with chronic diseases about the safety of the proposed vaccines.

Automated summary

The study revealed that nearly one third of people living with HIV were hesitant towards the COVID-19 vaccine, with concerns about their health, the requirement of vaccination, and their chronic disease status being the main factors influencing acceptance. Conversely, general vaccine refusal, concerns about side effects, and belief in existing immunity were the main factors driving vaccine hesitancy.