COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among breast cancer patients in East Avenue Medical Center

INTRODUCTION: Vaccine hesitancy has been an ongoing complex public issue in the Philippines posing threats to progress against preventable outbreaks and significant morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. Patients with cancer were not included in the initial vaccine trials against COVID-19 hence the plausible explanation behind vaccine hesitancy in this population. This study attempts to determine the factors affecting a patient diagnosed with breast cancer to receive COVID-19 vaccine based on constructs from the Health Beliefs Model (HBM). OBJECTIVES: To determine the factors affecting a Filipino diagnosed with breast cancer to receive COVID-19 vaccine, namely; perceived susceptibility and severity to COVID-19 and perceived benefits and barriers to getting a vaccination against COVID-19. METHODS: A single- center, descriptive, cross-sectional study in patients diagnosed with breast cancer was conducted to assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. RESULTS: A total of 85 eligible breast cancer patients were included in the analyses. Age, socio-economic factors, and presence of co-morbidities and metastasis were not significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Concerns on efficacy, safety, faulty or fake vaccine, as well as if the vaccine was taken by many in the public were significantly associated with hesitancy (p <0.05) when taken as individual factors. The perception of COVID-19 vaccine safety under the perceived barriers construct was found to be the only significant factor to predict vaccine hesitancy (OR= 4.737, CI 1.75, 12.82). CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that focus on perceived barriers are most crucial in order to increase vaccination rate among breast cancer patients. DISCLOSURE: No significant relationships.