Berríos, H.; López-Cepero, A.; Pérez, C.M.; Cameron, S.; Calvo, A.D.P.; Colón-López, V. COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Hesitancy among Hispanic Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from the Puerto Rico Community Engagement Alliance against COVID-19 Disparities (PR-CEAL). Vaccines2023, 11, 1426.
Berríos, H.; López-Cepero, A.; Pérez, C.M.; Cameron, S.; Calvo, A.D.P.; Colón-López, V. COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Hesitancy among Hispanic Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from the Puerto Rico Community Engagement Alliance against COVID-19 Disparities (PR-CEAL). Vaccines 2023, 11, 1426.
Berríos, H.; López-Cepero, A.; Pérez, C.M.; Cameron, S.; Calvo, A.D.P.; Colón-López, V. COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Hesitancy among Hispanic Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from the Puerto Rico Community Engagement Alliance against COVID-19 Disparities (PR-CEAL). Vaccines2023, 11, 1426.
Berríos, H.; López-Cepero, A.; Pérez, C.M.; Cameron, S.; Calvo, A.D.P.; Colón-López, V. COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Hesitancy among Hispanic Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from the Puerto Rico Community Engagement Alliance against COVID-19 Disparities (PR-CEAL). Vaccines 2023, 11, 1426.
Abstract
Hispanic/Latino communities have suffered a disproportionate burden due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Puerto Rico has one of the highest COVID-19 primary series vaccination rates nationwide, this estimate contrasts with the low uptake of booster doses (32.7%). This study aimed to assess health belief correlates of COVID-19 vaccine booster uptake. PR-CEAL recruited 787 participants via an online survey between December 2021 and January 2022. Sociodemographic characteristics and questions framed using the Health Belief Model were assessed. Analyses included adjusted Poisson regression models to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) of booster refusal. Overall, 22% of participants planned (10%) or refused (12%) the vaccine booster. Participants with lower income [PR=1.92; 95%CI=1.30, 2.84], in disagreement with vaccine benefits [PR=4.16; 95%CI=3.06, 5.64], and in agreement with booster concerns [PR=2.93; 95%CI=2.12, 4.04], efficacy [PR=2.76; 95%CI=2.00, 3.82], and safety [PR=2.97; 95%CI=2.15, 4.08] were significantly more likely to refuse the booster. Booster vaccination refusal was associated with lower perceived vaccine benefits and higher barriers among adults in Puerto Rico. Results informed CEAL team intervention strategies for public health campaigns to increase booster vaccine uptake.
Keywords
COVID-19; booster; vaccine uptake
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
