Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, predominantly immune-mediated degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Due to prolonged use of immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive medications, vaccine hesitancy could be common among MS patients. Our main aim in the current study was to evaluate the willingness and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with MS. In our multicenter cross-sectional questionnaire-based clinical study, 892 patients completed the questionnaire between May to June 2021. The questionnaire consisted of demographic data, MS disease-related factors, history of COVID-19 infection/vaccination, and any existing comorbidities. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 19. Overall, 68% of the participants expressed willingness to be vaccinated. Major causes of vaccine refusal in our patients were the fear of reducing the efficacy of disease modifying drugs (DMDs) upon vaccination as well as distrusting the vaccines and overestimation bias in the power of their innate immunity and potential COVID-19 resistance. Some demographic factors affected vaccination enthusiasm in our study. Our findings did not show significant correlation between the age and comorbidity and vaccine willingness. Only one-third of our patients received their vaccine information from healthcare providers. The majority of them received these data from official broadcasting channels and social media. However, despite several concerns, the willingness of COVD-19 vaccination in the Iranian MS patients is remarkable.
Highlights
Late December 2019, the world faced a pandemic infectious disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2)
Major causes of vaccine refusal in our patients were the fear of reducing the efficacy of disease modifying drugs (DMDs) upon vaccination as well as distrusting the vaccines and overestimation bias in the power of their innate immunity and potential COVID-19 resistance
The questionnaire consisted of demographic data, Multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-related factors including disease duration, course, current disease-modifying therapy, disability status by expanded disability status scale (EDSS), history of COVID-19 infection/vaccination, and any existing comorbidities
Summary
Late December 2019, the world faced a pandemic infectious disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2). The spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused significant morbidity and mortality as well as substantial psychosocial complications and economic crisis all over the world [1]. Vaccination has been among the most effective and cost-beneficial interventions to control this pandemic [4]. 56.8% of the world population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and 43.3% have been fully vaccinated. A total of 8.7 billion doses have been administered globally, and 33.87 million shots are currently being administered daily (https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations (accessed on 15 November 2021)). Only 7.6% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose [5]
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