Target sequencing reveals the association between variants in VAX1 and NSCL/P in Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE: A significant genetic association between rs7078160 in VAX1 and NSCL/P has been established through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and we previously replicated the association in the Chinese population. The critical issue in the post-GWAS era is to identify functional variations that have a real impact on disease in the susceptible regions highlighted by GWAS. This study aimed to elucidate functional variants in VAX1 fully. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Firstly, target sequencing was performed on 159 NSCL/P patients, followed by association analysis to discover disease-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); we then replicated the findings using a larger sample (1626 cases, 2255 controls) and investigated how candidate SNPs affect disease occurrence using extensive annotation databases. Additionally, we compared the genetic profiles of NSCL/P subtypes. RESULTS: In this study, 6 SNPs in VAX1 were identified to be associated with NSCL/P in the Western Han Chinese population. Five of them were predicted to influence transcriptional factor-biding ability and were expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) of nearby genes in multiple tissues. CONCLUSION: The previously reported association between rs7078160 and NSCL/P was successfully replicated. Moreover, our findings firstly revealed that 5 SNPs in VAX1 are associated with NSCL/P in the Western Han Chinese population. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Original Reports.

Can "My Body, My Choice" anti-vaxxers be pro-life?

Many "anti-vaxxers" oppose COVID-19 vaccination mandates on the grounds that they wrongfully infringe on bodily autonomy. Their view has been expressed with the slogan "My Body, My Choice," co-opted from the pro-choice abortion rights movement. Yet, many of those same people are pro-life and support abortion restrictions that are effectively a kind of gestation mandate. Both vaccine and gestation mandates impose restrictions on bodily autonomy in order to prevent serious harms. This article evaluates the defensibility of the anti-vax pro-life position. We argue that the case for opposing gestation mandates on grounds of bodily autonomy is much stronger than the case for opposing vaccine mandates-even if fetuses have full moral status. Thus, there is a deep tension in being a pro-life, COVID anti-vaxxer concerned with bodily autonomy.

Anti-vaccination attitudes are associated with less analytical and more intuitive reasoning.

Online anti-vaccination rhetoric has produced far reaching negative health consequences. Persons who endorse anti-vaccination attitudes may employ less analytical reasoning when problem solving. Considering limitations in previous research, we used an online web-based survey (n = 760; mean age = 47.69; 388 males, 372 females) to address this question. Analytical reasoning was negatively correlated with anti-vaccination attitudes (r = -.18, p < .0001). This relationship remained significant after statistically controlling for potential confounders, including age, sex, education, and religiosity (r = -.16, p < .0001). We hope that elucidating the cognitive, non-information-based aspects of anti-vaccination attitudes will help to guide effective educational interventions aimed at improving public health in the future.

Attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination in the nursing profession: validation of the Italian version of the VAX scale and descriptive study.

Foreward: Nurses' attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination is a relevant issue, for the protection of the vulnerable people they care for, and the key role they play in promoting health behaviors that encourage trust and adherence to vaccination among population. This study aimed to validate the Italian version of the Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) scale and to describe nurses' attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out from May to June 2021. Descriptive statistics, Explorative and Confirmatory Factor Analyses have been performed. Methods: An online survey was carried out in Italy. The VAX scale referring to the COVID-19 vaccine was used. Findings: 430 nurses participated in the study, mainly female (73.2%). Mean age was 40.2 years. VAX scale revealed an optimal reliability; Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Analysis supported a 4-factors model. VAX scale mean scores showed low mistrust about vaccine's benefit (2.03±1.07), concerns about commercial profiteering (2.33±1.39) and preference for natural immunity (2.90±1.37). More worries concerning unexpected future effects were found (4.46±1.36). Gender, taking care of a frail person in family, having children or working in a COVID-19 setting are no significantly related to vaccination attitude. Participants from northern Italy expressed greater confidence in vaccine's benefits, the younger had significant lower scores about commercial profiteering. Conclusions: The Italian version of the VAX scale resulted a reliable tool to assess the nurses' attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. An overall positive nurses' attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccination was highlighted. The concern about unforeseen future effects suggested the need to increase the information on this issue. Clinical relevance: The results provided a valid and reliable tool to measure vaccination attitudes in the Italian context. This study could strengthen the health policies with educational interventions of healthcare workers through specific vaccination pathways. The healthcare professionals' vaccination attitudes play the key role also in promoting vaccination uptake in the population.

[Can we influence the negative drug attitude? Interpretation of the rejection of COVID-19 vaccine in the light of results of a pilot study].

Background and purpose: Vaccination refusal is a serious obstacle to minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Nevertheless, the rejection of vaccine can be considered the result of a negative attitude towards medical treatment, and according to our previously published data, it can be influenced by the underlying affective state. Increased incidence of affective disorders and anxiety could be observed globally during the pandemic, which may have a significant impact on vaccination acceptance. The aim of our pilot study was to determine the association between clinical improvement of affective and neurocognitive symptoms and change of drug attitude and health control beliefs in a sample of psychiatric patients. Methods: A data set of 85 patients with psychiatric disorder has been analysed with the use of Patient's Health Belief Questionnaire on Psychiatric Treatment (PHBQPT) with 5 subscales (Negative Aspect of Medication - NA; Positive Aspect of Medication - PA; Doctor health locus of control- Doctor HLOC; Internal HLOC; Psychological Reactance - PR); Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS-Anx; HADS-Dep) and neurocognitive tests, such as the Stroop test and the Trail Making Tests. All the tests were performed before and after a 14 days treatment. Paired t-tests and generalized linear models were performed to assess the associations between the variables. Results: The baseline scores of NA and HADS-Anx correlated significantly (p=0.001) and after two weeks of treatment NA decreased (p=0.001), while Doctor HLOC and Internal HLOC increased (p=0.001 and p=0.006). The patients performance of the neurocognitive tests improved (all p<0.05). The reduction of HADS-Anx (p=0.002) and HADS-Dep (p=0.006) scores showed significant associations with the decrease of NA. Increase of the PA score was associated with reduction of HADS-Dep (p=0.028). Improvement of neurocognitive functions had no effect on PHBQPT scores. Conclusion: Important conclusions can be drawn regarding the rejection of the COVID-19 vaccine based on the associations found between the intensity of affective and anxiety symptoms and the attitude towards treatment. Our findings suggest that affective symptoms have a negative influence on the attitude towards treatment and that the improvement of these symptoms can facilitate the acceptance of the therapy, regardless of diagnosis. The modest effect of the improvement of neurocognitive functioning on the attitude towards drugs and the significant role of affective-emotional factors suggest that the accep-tance of vaccination probably cannot be facilitated solely with the aid of educational programs. Considering the increasing incidence of affective disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, the screening of affective and anxiety symptoms and treatment of these disorders could be an important step towards the acceptance of the vaccine. Although psychiatry is not considered as a frontline care unit of the COVID cases, more attention is needed to pay on the availability of mental health services because refuse of vaccine can develop due to affective disorders too.

Validation and psychometric properties of the Italian Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX-I) scale.

Despite the massive volume of scientific evidence on the benefits of immunisation, vaccine hesitancy is still a global health threat and represents an obstacle to controlling the spread of viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and its associated COVID-19. Thus, the present study aimed to adapt and validate an Italian version of the Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) scale. The Italian version of the scale (VAX-I), along with validation measures (general health perceptions, perceived sensitivity to medicines, intention to get the flu vaccine, and trust in health authorities) were administered to a sample of 534 Italian participants aged 18 to 87 (M = 32.41, SD = 15.35). The original version of the VAX scale was translated into Italian using a back-translation method. The parallel and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the scale's four-factor structure fits the data well, as in the original version. Reliability coefficients indicated that the VAX-I scale showed good internal consistency and measurement invariance results demonstrated that the VAX-I scale is stable across gender. Construct validity was supported by the significant negative correlation with general health perceptions, intentions to get the flu vaccine, and trust in health authorities, and the weak but significant and positive correlation with perceived sensitivity to medicines. Overall, the VAX-I scale appears to be a valid instrument to assess vaccine hesitancy in the Italian context. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03209-5.

The "anti-vax" movement: a quantitative report on vaccine beliefs and knowledge across social media.

BACKGROUND: Social media use has become a mainstay of communication and with that comes the exchange of factual and non-factual information. Social media has given many people the opportunity to speak their opinions without repercussions and create coalitionS of like-minded people. This also has led to the development of a community know as anti-vaxxers or vaccine deniers. This research explores the extent to which vaccine knowledge has reached on social media. METHODS: This cross sectional research explored the relationship between the spread of information regarding vaccines in relation to social media use. A sample of 2515 people over the age of 18 around the world completed the survey via a link distributed on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. A series of questions on vaccine knowledge and beliefs were compounded to create an individual's "knowledge score" and a "belief score". Knowledge scores were ranked from low knowledge to high knowledge with increasing scores. Belief scores were ranked from belief in myths to disbelief in myths with higher scores. This score was then analysed, using a Welch test and post hoc testing when applicable, across demographics and questions relating to social media use. RESULTS: Significant relations were found in both the knowledge and belief categories, many of which were similar findings between the two. North Americans had significantly lower knowledge and belief scores compared to all other continents. While the majority of people primarily use Facebook, Twitter users were significantly more knowledgeable. It was also found that higher education was correlated with higher knowledge and belief scores. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these correlations are important in determining ways to intervene into the anti-vax movement through the use of social media. Cross demographics were not analysed in this study but could be in future studies. To better understand the social media exposures related to vaccine information a follow up structured interview research study would be beneficial. Note that due to the cross sectional nature of this study, causal relationships could not be made.

Exploring GRHL3 polymorphisms and SNP-SNP interactions in the risk of non-syndromic oral clefts in the Brazilian population.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in grainyhead-like 3 (GRHL3) and to verify its possible interactions with others genes responsible for craniofacial development in the risk of non-syndromic oral cleft (NSOC). METHODS: Applying TaqMan allelic discrimination assays, we evaluated GRHL3 SNPs (rs10903078, rs41268753, and rs4648975) in an ancestry-structured case-control sample composed of 1,127 Brazilian participants [272 non-syndromic cleft palate only (NSCPO), 242 non-syndromic cleft lip only (NSCLO), 319 non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCLP), and 294 healthy controls]. Additionally, SNP-SNP interactions of GRHL3 and previously reported variants in FAM49A, FOXE1, NTN1, and VAX1 were verified in non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL ± P). To eliminate false-positive associations, Bonferroni correction or 1,000 permutation method was applied. RESULTS: The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the CC genotype of rs10903078 (p = .03) and the haplotype C-C formed by the SNPs rs10903078 and rs41268753 (p = .04) were associated with NSCLO, but the p-values did not withstand Bonferroni correction. However, SNP-SNP test revealed significant interactions between GRHL3 SNPs and FAM49A (rs7552), FOXE1 (rs3758249), VAX1 (rs7078160 and rs751231), and NTN1 (rs9891446). CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm the importance of GRHL3 and its interactions with previously NSOC-associated genes, including FAM49A, FOXE1, NTN1, and VAX1, in the pathogenesis of NSOC in the Brazilian population.

Using text mining and sentiment analysis to analyse YouTube Italian videos concerning vaccination.

BACKGROUND: Recently, social networks have become a popular source of information on health topics. Particularly, in Italy, there is a lively discussion on the web regarding vaccines also because there is low vaccination coverage, vaccines hesitancy, and anti-vaccine movements. For these reasons, in 2017, Institutions have introduced a law to force children to make ten compulsory vaccines for school attendance and proposed a vaccination campaign. On social networks, this law has fostered a fierce discussion between pro-vaccinations and anti-vaccinations people. This paper aims to understand if and how the population's opinion has changed before the law and after the vaccination campaign using the titles of the videos uploaded on Youtube in these periods. METHOD: Using co-occurrence network (CON) and sentiment analysis, we analysed the topics of YouTube Italian videos on vaccines in 2017 and 2018. RESULTS: The CON confirms that vaccinations were very disapproved before the law. Instead, after the communication campaign, people start to be less critical. The sentiment analysis shows that the intense vaccination campaign also promoted by medical doctors pushed the sentiment to change polarity from a prevailing negative opinion in 2017 (52% negative) to a positive one in 2018 (54% positive). CONCLUSION: At the population level, the potential misinformation of social networks could be significant and is a real risk for health. Our study highlights that vaccination campaigns on social networks could be an essential instrument of health policies and a sharp weapon to fight ignorance and misrepresentations of non-qualified people influencing individuals' decision-making.

First insights into the expression of VAX2 in humans and its localization in the adult primate retina.

VAX2 is a transcription factor specifically expressed in the ventral region of the prospective neural retina in vertebrates and is required for ventral eye specification. Despite its extensive analysis in vertebrates, the biological role of VAX2 in the human is presently unclear. This study was undertaken to investigate VAX2 in humans aiming to gain new knowledge into its involvement in retinal function. Here, we report VAX2 gene expression and protein localization in cultured cells and adult retina. RT-PCR experiments indicated that VAX2 is enriched in neuronal tissues. Moreover, we identified a novel isoform most abundantly expressed in the retina. We termed the known transcript (NM_012476) isoform-1, and the newly identified transcript as isoform-2. Analysis of protein localization in cultured cells revealed that isoform-1 localizes to the nucleus and isoform-2 is widely expressed within the cell; partial co-localization of isoform-2 and actin filaments was also observed. In nonhuman primate retina VAX2 was seen either in the nuclear or in the cytoplasmic compartment depending on the retinal cell type. In addition, a noteworthy enrichment of the signal was observed in the outer segment of cone photoreceptors. Overall, this study provides the first insights into the expression of VAX2 in humans and its localization in the adult primate retina. Moreover, preliminary characterization of alternative variants suggests an involvement of VAX2 in multiple cellular pathways. Our findings raise the interesting possibility for further investigation of VAX2 in the retina in health and disease.

Genetic risk factors for orofacial clefts in Central Africans and Southeast Asians.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for orofacial clefts have identified several susceptibility regions, but have largely focused on non-Hispanic White populations in developed countries. We performed a targeted genome-wide study of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in exons using the Illumina HumanExome+ array with custom fine mapping of 16 cleft susceptibility regions in three underserved populations: Congolese (87 case-mother, 210 control-mother pairs), Vietnamese (131 case-parent trios), and Filipinos (42 case-mother, 99 control-mother pairs). All cases were children with cleft lip with or without cleft palate. Families were recruited from local hospitals and parental exposures were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires. We used logistic regression models for case-control analyses, family-based association tests for trios, and fixed-effect meta-analyses to determine individual SNP effects corrected for multiple testing. Of the 16 known susceptibility regions tested, SNPs in four regions reached statistical significance in one or more of these populations: 1q32.2 (IRF6), 10q25.3 (VAX1), and 17q22 (NOG). Due to different linkage disequilibrium patterns, significant SNPs in these regions differed between the Vietnamese and Filipino populations from the index SNP selected from previous GWAS studies. Among Africans, there were no significant associations identified for any of the susceptibility regions. rs10787738 near VAX1 (P = 4.98E-3) and rs7987165 (P = 6.1E-6) were significant in the meta-analysis of all three populations combined. These results confirm several known susceptibility regions and identify novel risk alleles in understudied populations.

No time to lie: Examining the identity of pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination supporters through user-generated content.

OBJECTIVE: This study delves into the social identity of pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination supporters, emphasizing an understanding of the values that shape these distinct identities. Furthermore, the research highlights that user-generated content pertaining to vaccines offers valuable insights into the underlying personal values of both pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination groups. METHOD: We constructed a textual dataset based on 142,596 tweets. This data was analyzed in three steps. First, the linguistic characteristics of the textual data, together with the underlying personal values of the text creators, were identified using LIWC software. Second, the identified personal values were used as an input for the moderation analysis, which examined the relationship between personal values and social identity for pro- and anti-vaccination groups. Finally, an automated, in-depth text analysis was conducted in Mathematica to understand the narratives created by both groups. RESULTS: The study findings indicate that both pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination supporters display characteristics of subcultures with distinct group identities. Consequently, based on the results, there is a need for more tailored public health communication strategies that address these two groups separately. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding how users create health-related content based on their personal values is crucial. Acknowledging and appreciating the diverse personal values and identities within different groups in the vaccination discourse can inform health communication efforts, aligning these efforts with the specific values of each group. This targeted communication is vital for effectively conveying relevant peer-reviewed health information amid the abundance of health-related user-generated content.

Investigating Beliefs in Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theories among Medical Students.

While the doctors' role in immunization is essential, their lack of knowledge or vaccine hesitancy may affect their ability to communicate effectively and educate patients about vaccination, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine conspiracy theories. This, in turn, may hinder health policy aimed at fighting infectious diseases. Vaccine hesitancy is prevalent not only among the general population but also among healthcare workers; thus, this study is aimed at assessing future doctors' attitudes towards anti-vax conspiracy theories. A total of 441 medical students at Poznan University of Medical Sciences completed a web-based survey designed to explore their attitudes toward the six most prevalent anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. The survey showed that although over 97% of future doctors support vaccinations as an effective form of fighting infectious diseases, and 80% did not believe in any anti-vax conspiracy theory, a significant fraction of 20% of medical students either believed in at least one such theory or were unsure. It has also shown that male and younger students who had not received a flu vaccination and defined themselves as politically right-wing or conservative and religious were more likely to believe in anti-vax conspiracy theories. Our data suggest that, in order to overcome medical students' ambivalent attitudes towards anti-vax conspiracy theories, they should receive more education about the importance of vaccination in preventing disease and about effective ways to combat vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax conspiracy theories.

Determination of COVID-19 Late Disorders as Possible Long-COVID and/or Vaccination Consequences.

In this era in which the vast majority of the global population have developed COVID-19 infection and/or got vaccinated against it, identification of the late disorders as the vaccines' side effect or long-COVID manifestation seems essential. This study included the vaccinated individuals of 4 different vaccine regimens including inactivated virus-based, subunit protein, and adenovirus-based vaccines in a follow-up schedule 6-month post the booster shot. All the documented vaccine adverse events were thoroughly assessed considering the cases' medical history by Adverse Events Committee of Pasteur Institute of Iran. Totally 329 individuals who got 3 doses of vaccination were followed 6 months after the booster shots among whom 41 (12.4%) cases with the mean age of 40.9 ± 10.48 years had a type of disorder. Gynecological and osteoarticular involvements were the most common recorded disorders of which 73.1% were possibly linked to vaccination outcomes and the rest were affected by both long-COVID-19 and vaccination. Notably, the average time of symptoms persistence was 155 ± 10.4 days. This study has the advantage of long-term follow-up which presents various forms of late events in each episode of COVID-19 infection and vaccination. About 26.8% of people with persistent complications suffered from both long-COVOD/ vaccination in whom the differentiation between the vaccine side effect and long-COVID manifestation was quite challenging. Long-term follow-up studies in large population seems essential to outline the role of long-COVID and vaccination regarding persistent complications.

Long Vax in the Eye: Long Post-COVID Vaccination Syndrome Presenting with Frosted Branch Angiitis.

mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been reported as protecting against COVID-19 and reducing its severity, and we have recognized post-vaccination symptoms recently. This research investigates the clinical trajectories of ocular disorders in a 51-year-old female who received a second dose of the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Exhibiting fever and blurred vision within 24 h post-vaccination, with progressive blurry vision over two months, she underwent in-depth ophthalmologic examinations, revealing intraocular cellular infiltration in anterior chamber, vitreous opacity, and frosted branch angiitis in both eyes. Comprehensive evaluations, including systemic workups as well as ocular and blood specimen analyses, excluded autoimmune and infectious etiologies, consolidating the diagnosis of vaccine-induced ocular inflammation. Despite adherence to prevailing therapeutic protocols, her condition showed no significant improvement over 18 months, pointing to a possible long post-COVID vaccination syndrome. Such persistent sequelae underscore the need for detailed studies to discern the interactions between vaccine-induced immune responses and the development of post-vaccination sequelae. Continual documentation of patients with long post-COVID vaccination syndrome is now essential to better understand the vaccine's immunological effects, aiding in improving global vaccination strategies.

Global VAX: A U.S. contribution to global COVID-19 vaccination efforts, 2021-2023.

In December 2021 the U.S. Government announced a new, whole-of-government $1.8 billion effort, the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access (Global VAX) in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Using the foundation of decades of U.S. government investments in global health and working in close partnership with local governments and key global and multilateral organizations, Global VAX enabled the rapid acceleration of the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout in selected countries, contributing to increased COVID-19 vaccine coverage in some of the world's most vulnerable communities. Through Global VAX, the U.S. Government has supported 125 countries to scale up COVID-19 vaccine delivery and administration while strengthening primary health care systems to respond to future health crises. The progress made by Global VAX has paved the way for a stronger global recovery and improved global health security.

The potential up-regulation risk of 3' UTR SNP (rs10787760 G > A) for the VAX1 gene is associated with NSCLP in the northwest Chinese population.

AIMS: To investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 3'UTR region of VAX1, SYT14 and PAX7 genes and the risk of non-syndromic cleft palate (NSCLP) in a northwest Chinese population. MAIN METHODS: A case-control study was conducted in 406 normal controls and 399 NSCLP patients. Using iMLDRTM genotyping technology, eight SNPs of three genes ((rs10787760, rs7086344 at VAX1), (rs1010113, rs851114, and rs485874 at PAX7), and (rs61820397, rs4609425, rs12133399 at SYT14)) were genotyped to investigate the differences in alleles and genotype distribution frequencies between NSCLP patients and healthy controls. RNA Folding Form software was used to predict RNA secondary structure and expression vectors were constructed to explore the function of the relevant SNP. The effect of SNP polymorphism of gene transcription and translation was assessed using qPCR and Western blot analysis. KEY FINDINGS: Among the eight SNPs of three genes, rs10787760 of VAX1 gene was found to be associated with an increased risk of NSCLP (OR = 1.341, CI = 1.004-1.790) and the GA genotype of rs10787760 increased the risk of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) about 1.42 times (p < 0.05), and carrying the A allele might increase the risk of NSCL/P in male (OR = 1.356, 95 % CI = 1.010-1.823). But there was no association observed with cleft palate only (CPO). Cell function experiments revealed that the G to A mutation in rs10787760 up-regulated GFP-VAX1 transcriptional level by 2.39 and 3.13 times in two cell lines respectively, and enhance the protein expression of the VAX1 gene further. RNA secondary structure study showed that the rs10787760 (G > A) had two different secondary structures in 3'UTR region. SIGNIFICANCE: The rs10787760 variant in the 3'UTR region of VAX1 gene is associated with CL/P in northwest Chinese population. We hypothesize that the machanism of it might be caused by the RNA differenct fold in the 3'UTR region caused by the polymorphism of the gene. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Original Reports.

Can vaccine adherence against Sars-CoV-2 become a criterion for access to medical care?

Vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax movements are increasing globally. Covid-19 pandemic has caused and causes emergency situations where available resources do not always meet the need for community care.In this article, the authors analyse the bioethical and medico-legal implications of the possibility - in conditions of scarcity of resources - of selecting patients who must have access to medical care based on vaccination against Sars-CoV-2.

Assessing Trust in Physician and Vaccine Hesitancy Among Hispanic/Latinx Parents.

Introduction: Representing the USA's largest ethnic/racial group, Hispanic/Latinx (HL) experience health challenges of proportional magnitude. This study investigates the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among HL adults and trust in their child's pediatrician. Methods: HL parents of children who receive medical care at one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Centers in the United States completed a survey examining associations between physician trust, vaccine hesitancy, and demographics. Data were subjected to ANOVA via SAS9 version 9.0 (Cary, NC) and SPSS version 27 (Chicago, IL) software. Results: With a total of 500 surveys completed (51% response rate; 81% completion rate), the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy amounted to 15.4% (n = 77). Parents with university-level education displayed higher levels of trust and perceptions in favor of routine vaccination practices (p < .01). When medical visits were conducted in Spanish, parents exhibited lower levels of trust and were more vaccine-hesitant (p < .01). Conclusions: Vaccine literacy must be prioritized in early education to reach parents who may not achieve college degrees. Ensuring language concordance within patient-physician dyads may maximize the potential for vaccine uptake and physician trust.

Assessment of concerns about vaccination among recovered COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy re-emerged as a critical public health issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims: This study assessed the concerns of recovered COVID-19 patients about vaccination and the predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 319 adult patients who recovered from COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. It was conducted during 1 May to 1 October 2020 at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh. Each participant was interviewed 6-12 months post-recovery using the vaccination attitude examination scale. Data were collected on COVID-19 illness severity, sociodemographic characteristics, history of chronic disease, and post-COVID-19 vaccination. Level of vaccination concern was assessed based on the percentage mean score (PMS). Results: Most (85.3%) of the patients who recovered from COVID-19 expressed moderate overall concern (PMS = 68.96%) about vaccination. Concern was highest for mistrust in vaccine benefits (PMS = 90.28%), followed by natural immunity preference (PMS = 81.33%) and worries about the vaccine side-effects (PMS = 60.29%). Concern over commercial profiteering was low (PMS = 43.92%). The overall PMS for concern about vaccination was significantly higher among patients aged 45+ years (t = 3.12, P = 0.002) and among those who had experienced severe COVID-19 illness (t = 1.96, P = 0.05). Conclusion: Overall concern about vaccination was high, and specific concerns were prevalent. Patient education on how the vaccine protects against reinfection should be targeted at COVID-19 patients before being discharged from hospital.