AUTHOR=Yang Yang , Nie Jing , Sun Fei , Wang Jinghua , Chen Jianhua , Li Ling , Sheng Meiqing , Yang Sijie , Yu Lei , Li Xia 

TITLE=The SARS-CoV-2 vaccination rate and hesitation in Shanghai older adults with dementia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1172642

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1172642

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Objective: This study aimed to examine the actual willingness and attitudes regarding vaccination among the guardians of demented elderly.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to guardians of dementia patients .Logistic regression analyses were used to uncover factors associated with vaccination willingness.
Results: A total of 327 valid questionnaires were collected. The vaccination rate among participants from long-term care facilities (12.9%) was lower than those in the psychiatric ward (19.3%) or community dwelling settings (27.1%) (p<0.05). The guardians’ primary concern was that vaccination would aggravate the health conditions of dementia patients [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 5.11; 95% confidence interval (CI):1.86–14.05]. Additionally, negative reports from the vaccination [OR = 3.94; 95%CI1.68–9.24], and the adverse reactions [OR = 2.50; 95%CI1.13–5.52] were related to higher odds of hesitation to vaccine. 
Conclusions: Our results showed that low vaccination rates in older adults with dementia, mainly due to their guardians’ concerns about vaccine safety.
 Our findings firstly uncovered actual SARS-CoV-2 vaccination rates among the demented elderly, and may provide potential intervenations to reduce the unjustified worries toward vaccination.