The Current Status of Vaccine Uptake and the Impact of COVID-19 on Intention to Vaccination in Patients with COPD in Beijing

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 tends to cause more severe disease in patients with COPD once they are infected. We aimed to investigate the rates of influenza, pneumococcal and COVID-19 vaccination uptake in patients with COPD and to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread vaccination against COVID-19 had any impact on the intention to accept influenza vaccines in these patients. METHODS: We conducted a multi-center and cross-sectional survey in seven tertiary hospitals in Beijing and consecutively recruited outpatients with COPD from June 1st to July 30th, 2021. The survey included patient’s clinical characteristics, uptake of influenza, pneumococcal and COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine knowledge, attitude towards vaccines, and the change of intention to receive influenza vaccination after COVID-19 epidemic and COVID-19 vaccination in Beijing. RESULTS: A total of 264 patients were enrolled. The rate of COVID-19 vaccination during the study period was 39.0%. The rates of influenza vaccination in the past season and pneumococcal vaccination in the past year were 22.7% and 5.7%, respectively. Of the patients who had not received COVID-19 vaccination (n = 161), only 16.2% reported that COVID-19 vaccination was recommended by clinicians, while 23.5% had no knowledge regarding COVID-19 vaccination. About 51.1% of the patients reported that their intention to receive influenza vaccination was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccination was independently associated with a positive change in intention to receive influenza vaccination. CONCLUSION: The coverage rate of COVID-19 vaccination among patients with COPD in Beijing was 39.0%, and that of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination was very low. The COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign showed a significant, positive impact on patients with COPD in terms of influenza vaccination. Improving awareness of the effectiveness and safety of vaccines among both healthcare professionals and patients could increase vaccination coverage in patients with COPD.