"I'm Off My Meds": Public Perception of Interactions Between SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and Anti-Psoriatic Treatments Online

Abstract

Psoriasis patients may seek information about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and their diagnosis from social media platforms. Analyses of social media interactions may help guide dermatologists’ educational efforts during this pandemic. This study analyzed the content and sentiment of online social media posts about the medication interaction between SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and anti-psoriatic therapies among psoriasis patients. Publicly accessible Facebook and Reddit groups regarding psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis were identified. Posts uploaded between March 1, 2021, and July 31, 2021, with information about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, were extracted. Themes, sentiment scores, and engagement scores were assigned to each post. 477 posts contained content pertaining to the vaccine and psoriatic medications. 19 (4%) of the posts contain negative sentiment, 232 (48.6%) contain neutral sentiment, and 226 (47.4%) contain positive sentiment. Several themes emerged from this study. A majority of posts (32.5%) contained concerns about holding or stopping medications prior to obtaining the vaccine. Other common concerns included fear of negative reaction (21.8%) and uncertainty about the ability to generate an efficient immune response to the vaccine while on anti-psoriatic medications (19.9%). Concerns identified by our content analysis should be incorporated into education efforts to address the reasons for vaccine hesitancy among patients with psoriatic diseases. These patient concerns can also help guide our strategy for implementing evidence-based recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination. J Drugs Dermatol. 2022;21(8):901-905. doi:10.36849/JDD.6853.