Attitudes towards Vaccines, Intent to Vaccinate and the Relationship with COVID-19 Vaccination Rates in Individuals with Schizophrenia
Stéphane Raffard,
Sophie Bayard,
Margot Eisenblaetter,
Jérôme Attal,
Christelle Andrieu,
Isabelle Chereau,
Guillaume Fond,
Sylvain Leignier,
Jasmina Mallet,
Philippe Tattard,
Mathieu Urbach,
David Misdrahi,
Yasmine Laraki,
Delphine Capdevielle
Affiliations
Stéphane Raffard
Laboratory EPSYLON, Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3, CEDEX 5, 34199 Montpellier, France
Sophie Bayard
Laboratory EPSYLON, Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3, CEDEX 5, 34199 Montpellier, France
Margot Eisenblaetter
Laboratory EPSYLON, Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3, CEDEX 5, 34199 Montpellier, France
Jérôme Attal
University Department of Adult Psychiatry, CHU Montpellier, 34000 Montpellier, France
Christelle Andrieu
Pôle Psychiatrie, Centre Expert Dépression Résistante et Schizophrénie Fonda Mental, CHU La Conception, 13005 Marseille, France
Isabelle Chereau
CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Service de Psychiatrie B, Université Clermont Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Guillaume Fond
Pôle Psychiatrie, Centre Expert Dépression Résistante et Schizophrénie Fonda Mental, CHU La Conception, 13005 Marseille, France
Sylvain Leignier
Centre Référent de Réhabilitation Psychosociale et de Remeédiation Cognitive (C3R), CH Alpes Iseère, 38400 Saint-Martin-d’Hères, France
Jasmina Mallet
AP-HP, Department of Psychiatry, Louis Mourier Hospital, 92700 Colombes, France
Philippe Tattard
University Department of Adult Psychiatry, CHU Montpellier, 34000 Montpellier, France
Mathieu Urbach
Department of Adult Psychiatry and Addictology, Versailles Hospital, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, 177 rue de Versailles, 78157 Le Chesnay, France
David Misdrahi
Department of Adult Psychiatry, Charles Perrens Hospital, University of Bordeaux, Laboratory of Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology (UMR INRA 1286), 33000 Bordeau, France
Yasmine Laraki
Laboratory EPSYLON, Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3, CEDEX 5, 34199 Montpellier, France
Delphine Capdevielle
University Department of Adult Psychiatry, CHU Montpellier, 34000 Montpellier, France
Schizophrenia patients are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 outcomes but recent evidence suggests that they are under-vaccinated. This study explored the role of potential attitudinal barriers by comparing schizophrenia patients with participants from the general population regarding COVID-19 vaccination rates, general attitudes towards vaccines, and willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine. We conducted a cross-sectional study between April 2021 and October 2021. A total of 100 people with schizophrenia and 72 nonclinical controls were recruited. In our study, individuals with schizophrenia were under-vaccinated, despite similar general attitudes towards vaccination and higher willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to nonclinical participants. In patients, negative attitudes toward vaccines were related to higher levels of negative psychotic symptoms and higher levels of paranoid ideation. As a whole, participants with more negative attitudes towards vaccines were less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and had lower levels of trust in institutions. Vaccine hesitancy does not appear to be a major barrier for COVID-19 vaccine uptake amongst people with schizophrenia. This study suggests that disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates in schizophrenia do not seem related to attitudinal but rather structural barriers.
