P0694 - COVID-19 Acceptance Amongst Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in a Suburb of New York

Karina Fatakhova, MD¹, Sapphire Perera, ², Royce Perera, ³, Benjamin Glazebnik, ⁴, Pratik Patel, MD⁵, Glazer Emily, MD¹, Greg Haggerty, PhD¹, Ramona Rajapakse, MD^6
1Mather Hospital/Northwell Health, Port Jefferson, NY; ²New York University, New York, NY; ³Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; ⁴Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY; ⁵Mather Hospital/Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University, Port Jefferson, NY; ⁶Northwell Health, Mather Hospital, Port Jefferson, NY

Introduction: Despite the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine and several boosters, Covid infection persists, albeit with decreased hospitalizations, severity and death. Vaccine hesitancy impedes efforts at eradication. Position papers recommend vaccination and boosters in IBD patients, but there is little data on vaccine acceptance amongst IBD patients in the US, especially those on immunosuppression. We conducted a retrospective survey assessing the acceptance rate of the covid-19 vaccine in IBD patients within our community.

Methods: In June 2022, 229 IBD patients over the age of 18, from two gastroenterology clinics in Suffolk County, NY, participated in an anonymous survey consisting of 15 questions pertaining to demographics, IBD history, therapeutics, Covid-19 vaccination history and rationale for acceptance or refusal of the vaccine. The surveys were completed in person or by telephone. Data was entered into an anonymous database for interpretation.

Results: A total of 229 patients responded to the survey; 51.5 % (n= 118) had Crohn’s disease and 48.5% (n=111) had ulcerative colitis. 210 patients received the Covid 19 vaccine (91.3%). The average age of vaccinated patients was 52.79 years (n = 209; SD = 17.0) and non-vaccinated patients was 44 years (n = 20; SD = 11.7). 155 patients (67.7%) received two doses of Covid 19 vaccine and a booster. The average age of those who received the booster was 54.74 years (n = 155; SD = 16.82) and those who did not, was 46.45 years (n = 74, SD = 15.26). 70 out of 77 patients on biologics received the Covid-19 vaccine (90.9%). There was no significant difference in acceptance between patients on biologics and those without, and between males and females. 19 patients did not receive two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine because of concern about; safety profile (8), vaccine inefficiency (6), adverse effects (4) and previous allergic reaction (1).

Discussion: Acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine steadily increases worldwide. In our community, a majority of surveyed IBD patients (91.3%) received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, an acceptance rate higher than that of the population in NY state (77%). The acceptance rate declined with the booster possibly due to fear of adverse effects. Like other studies, younger patients were more hesitant to receive the vaccine and booster. Contrary to other reports, most patients on biologics got the vaccine. It is our role as clinicians to continue to educate our patients on the importance and safety of the Covid-19 vaccine.



Disclosures:


Karina Fatakhova, MD¹, Sapphire Perera, ², Royce Perera, ³, Benjamin Glazebnik, ⁴, Pratik Patel, MD⁵, Glazer Emily, MD¹, Greg Haggerty, PhD¹, Ramona Rajapakse, MD⁶. P0694 - COVID-19 Acceptance Amongst Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in a Suburb of New York, ACG 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Vancouver, BC, Canada: American College of Gastroenterology.