Hesitation towards COVID-19 booster vaccination among dialysis patients: a cross-sectional study in Taizhou, China

This research aimed to explore hesitation towards the COVID-19 booster vaccine among dialysis patients and study the association between COVID-19 pandemic-induced health behavior and vaccination hesitancy.

A self-administered online questionnaire evaluating dialysis patients’ hesitation to take COVID-19 booster vaccination was conducted between March 24 and 22 April 2022 in Taizhou, China. The logistic regression method was applied to identify factors associated with vaccination hesitancy, and all data were analyzed using R software.

Of the 365 study participants, 272 (74.5%) individuals hesitated to take the booster dose. Health behavior was found to be a significant factor for hesitation to take COVID-19 vaccines, with OR (95% CI) of 1.09 (1.02–1.17). Influenza vaccination history was also significantly associated with the hesitation (OR (95% CI) = 0.39 (0.21–0.74)). In addition, participants with higher education levels exhibited lower vaccine hesitancy compared to those with junior secondary or below, with ORs (95% CIs) of 0.49 (0.27–0.91) for senior secondary and 0.35 (0.14–0.89) for junior college or above, respectively.

The proportion of hesitancy for taking the booster vaccination of the COVID-19 vaccine was high among dialysis patients. Health behaviors, influenza vaccination history, and education levels were risk factors in their vaccination hesitancy. These findings may aid efforts to help vaccinate people with underlying diseases against future pandemics.