Abhishek Gupta
A. Gupta, R. Rao, M. B. Deepak, R. Bhad. Department of Psychiatry and NDDTC, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India
Background: Patients with addictive disorders have high risk of COVID-19 infection and severe outcomes such as hospitalization and death. Though COVID-19 vaccines can modify these adverse outcomes, their acceptance may be limited in marginalized people such as those with Opioid Use Disorders (OUD). Study
Objectives: We assessed the COVID-19 vaccine-related knowledge, attitude and beliefs in patients with OUD on Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) from a community clinic in an urban impoverished area in Delhi, India.
Study Methods: Cross-sectional design. We interviewed 200 adult males with OUD (as per DSM-V criteria) on OAT using a structured questionnaire that had sections on knowledge, attitude and beliefs regarding COVID-19 Vaccine.
Results: The participants’ mean age was 27.4 (SD 6.8) years; majority (68%) had received less than 10 years schooling. While 77% reported that their family members had taken the vaccine, only 32% themselves had taken at least a single dose. 43% thought that they are ineligible to get vaccinated due to their addiction or due to their ongoing treatment with OAT (46.5%). Though majority (78.5%) were willing to get vaccinated, they had not done so due to concerns such as fear of vaccine-related adverse effects (35%) and lack of awareness (17%).
Conclusions: There is a wide gap in the COVID-19 vaccination rates between individuals with OUD (32% in our study compared to 75.4% in the general population of Delhi during our study). There are several misconceptions related to COVID-19 vaccinations in patients with OUD that needs addressal to achieve universal vaccination against COVID-19 infection.