Veterans With and Without SMI Equally Likely to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

Veterans with serious mental illness (SMI) are just as likely as veterans without SMI to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to astudy published this week inPsychiatric Services in Advance.“Because individuals with [SMI] are at higher risk for COVID-19 infection and death, COVID-19 vaccine uptake in this population is a key concern,” wrote Taona P. Haderlein, Ph.D., M.A., of the Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center in North Hills, Calif., and colleagues. “Researchers have noted that fear of contracting COVID-19 via COVID-19 vaccination, as well as the ‘infodemic’ of misinformation from media outlets regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout, may exacerbate preexisting mistrust among some individuals with [SMI] and increase vaccine hesitancy.”Haderlein and colleagues analyzed Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic health record data, identifying over 4.8 million veterans aged 18 and older who had an outpatient visit from March 1, 2018, through February 29, 2020. These records included information on veterans who had an SMI diagnosis (diagnoses included schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder) as well as veterans without an SMI diagnosis. Veterans who received COVID-19 vaccinations were identified from December 1, 2020, to June 1, 2021. The authors also looked at other health behaviors noted in the electronic health record data, such as history of smoking or influenza vaccinations.The researchers found that 48...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: COVID vaccine COVID-19 serious mental illness SMI smoking vaccines veterans Source Type: research