Contrary to perceptions, vaccine refusal was lower for Black patients than White patients.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Vaccine Hesitancy Lower Among Black Patients: A surprising study found that Black patients were less likely to refuse vaccines compared to White patients, with only 4.9% of Black participants demonstrating vaccine hesitancy compared to 17.5% of White participants.
- Mistrust of Authority a Key Factor: The study highlighted that mistrust of authority played a significant role in vaccine hesitancy, suggesting the need for stronger relationships and trust-building between healthcare providers and patients.
- Demographic Factors Not Strongly Linked to Hesitancy: The study found that demographic factors such as gender, age, and language were not significantly associated with vaccine refusal, underscoring the complexity of vaccine hesitancy beyond surface-level characteristics.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, media widely reported that Black patients were more likely than White patients to refuse vaccines, including the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. A new study being presented at this year’s American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting in Boston showed that self-identified non-White patients were less likely to demonstrate vaccine hesitancy than the self-identified White patient group.
“We found some surprising results from our study, including that minority patients were less likely to demonstrate vaccine hesitancy,” says Albert Wu, MD, lead author of the study, in a release. “Allergy and immunology patients may be immunocompromised and at higher risk for infections, so identifying vaccine-hesitant groups is essential to protecting these individuals and those at risk in the community. Our goal was to analyze patient characteristics and factors associated with influenza and COVID vaccine hesitancy in a clinic in a diverse community.”
Vaccine-Hesitancy Among Races
The site of the study was an allergy clinic primarily serving the Brooklyn area of New York City. The clinic serves several zip codes predominantly below the median household income in the city as well as the least vaccinated zip codes in the city. It also serves communities of patients who are primarily immigrants.
Ethnicities included in the study included: White (37.2%), Hispanic (31.6%), Asian (18.9%), and Black (12.1%). 80% of the patient group spoke English as their primary language. In this study, 39 people (11.54%) refused both the influenza and COVID vaccine. Of the 39, distribution in each category was: White, 17.5%, Hispanic, 11.4%, Asian, 4.76%, and Black 4.9%. Gender, age, and language were not significantly associated with vaccine refusal rate.
“We felt a significant portion of vaccine-hesitant patients were influenced by a feeling of mistrust of authority,” says allergist Mary Lee-Wong, MD, senior author on the study and ACAAI member, in a release. “While public health campaigns with generalized messages are effective, building a relationship of trust and partnership with patients can be extremely impactful and a key way that allergists can help address vaccine hesitancy.”
