Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy, Effectiveness Among Patients with HIV | IDWeek 2024
Analyzing outcomes from the COVID-19, influenza, and pneumococcal vaccines, researchers explored the effectiveness and patient hesitancy surrounding each vaccine.
The introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine created an increased number of non-COVID-19 vaccine refusals amongst people living with HIV (PLWH), while a similar population also proved to be significantly nonadherent regarding the COVID-19 vaccination schedule.1-2 Regarding vaccine effectiveness, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and a high-dose quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine both proved to be significantly effective for PLWH.3-4
“The prevalence of vaccine hesitancy has been rising over the last several years and was exacerbated by the COVID-19 epidemic with the introduction of the novel COVID-19 vaccines. There are concerns that immunosuppressed individuals such as HIV patients may also demonstrate vaccine hesitancy to recommended non-COVID-19 vaccines,” wrote authors of a poster presented at IDWeek 2024.1
PLWH are at more severe risk of contracting infectious diseases and are advised to stay up to date with all recommended vaccinations. By staying protected against diseases like pneumococcal infections, influenza, and COVID-19, PLWH deplete their risk of hospitalization. However, with vaccine hesitancy at unprecedented levels since the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers focused on PLWH to further understand vaccine hesitancy and effectiveness among one of the most at-risk populations.
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