Understanding the attitudes of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Greece toward the 2024-2025 booster COVID-19 vaccine.

AIM: To understand the attitudes of unvaccinated, hospitalized patients with COVID-19 toward the 2024-2025 COVID-19 booster vaccine.

METHODS

The study was conducted in Greece. Unvaccinated, adult patients with COVID-19 were eligible.

RESULTS

One-hundred three patients (median age: 79.0 years) were studied, of whom 89 (86.4%) had ≥1 comorbidity. Ninety-five (92.2%) patients had received a median of 3 vaccine doses in the past and median time since last vaccine dose was 18 months. Main reasons for not getting vaccinated this season were belief of protection from past vaccination (31.1%), no perception of infection risk (26.2%), belief that COVID-19 vaccines are not safe (22.3%), and no risk perception for COVID-19-associated hospitalization (19.4%). Forty-nine (47.6%) patients stated that they would have preferred to have had the 2024-2025 vaccine. A logistic regression analysis found that increased age [odds ratio (OR): 1.147; confidence intervals (CI): 1.042-1.262] and history of COVID-19 (OR: 10.568; 95% CI: 1.127-99.063) were associated with increased probability of preference to have been vaccinated this season. Belief that COVID-19 vaccines are not safe and/or effective (OR: 0.10; 95% CI: 0.000-0.473) and ≤1 year since last dose (OR: 0.051; 95% CI: 0.003-0.865) were associated with reduced likelihood of regretting not getting vaccinated.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite their vulnerable profile, the study identified rather stable vaccine hesitancy toward booster doses among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Greece, who had not received the 2024-2025 vaccine. Misconceptions about vaccine safety, efficacy, and duration of vaccine protection were prominent and were associated with a reduced likelihood of preference for booster vaccination.