COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody Administration Linked to Drop in Blood Pressure: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

This study reports on hemodynamic changes observed during monoclonal antibody (mAb) administration for patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome-coronavirus-2. Findings from this study may have implications for patient safety. Hemodynamic data from 705 patients who received subcutaneous or intravenous mAb therapy during February 1, 2021-September 30, 2021 in clinics in Arkansas, USA were reviewed. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were used to assess blood pressure before and after treatment. Results showed 386 (54.7%) patients experienced a drop in systolic blood pressure (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) >5 mmHg. The average drop in SBP was 9.2 mmHg for those patients. Two hundred and eighty-one (39.9%) patients experienced a drop in SBP of >10 mmHg with an average drop in SBP of 12.0 mmHg. The Emergency Use Authorization for mAb does not list hypotension as a contraindication for treatment. Our findings suggest mAb therapy should be administered in an environment where vitals are monitored.

Healthcare Access and Experiences of Racial Discrimination as Predictors of General Vaccine Hesitancy.

The literature regarding vaccine hesitancy is limited to specific vaccines rather than general vaccine hesitancy. No studies have examined the relationship of general vaccine hesitancy to healthcare access and experiences of racial discrimination. This study fills gaps by examining: (1) socio-demographic factors; (2) associations between healthcare access; and (3) experiences with racial discrimination and general vaccine hesitancy. Survey data were obtained from 2022 US adults from 7 September to 3 October 2021. Racial and ethnic minority populations were oversampled. Age, gender, race, and education were predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Asian respondents had less than two-thirds the odds of being vaccine hesitant. Healthcare access was associated with vaccine hesitancy. Not having health insurance coverage, not having a primary care provider, and not seeing a provider for a routine check-up in the past two years were associated with higher vaccine hesitancy. For every one-point increase in racial discrimination score (0-45), the odds of being more vaccine hesitant increased by a factor of 1.03. The findings demonstrate that policy, systems, and environmental factors are critical to addressing vaccine hesitancy. Given the associations between vaccine hesitancy and racial discrimination and healthcare access, more attention should be given to inequities in the healthcare systems in order to address vaccine hesitancy.