AUTHOR=Moosa Aminath S. , Wee Yi M. S. , Jaw Meng H. , Tan Qifan F. , Tse Wan L. D. , Loke Chui Y. , Ee Guan L. A. , Ng Chee C. D. , Aau Wai K. , Koh Yi L. E. , Tan Ngiap C. 

TITLE=A multidisciplinary effort to increase COVID-19 vaccination among the older adults

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.904161

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.904161

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>COVID-19 vaccination significantly reduces the risk of infection and its associated morbidity and mortality. However, poor uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination was reported among the high-risk group of older people amidst emerging variants of concern. This community case study reports an outreach program in Singapore, COVE (COVID-19 Vaccination for the Elderly) initiated by healthcare workers in a cluster of primary care clinics. They assessed the vaccine hesitancy among these older persons, addressed their concerns and facilitated their vaccination appointment during a brief phone conversation.</p></sec><sec><title>Method</title><p>Twenty one thousand six hundred and sixty three unvaccinated adults aged ≥60 years were contacted by healthcare worker volunteers over two phases from June to October 2021. In phase I, they contacted adults aged above 70 years over 2 weeks. Adults who were uncontactable in phase I and those aged 60–69 years were sent SMS in phase II. Data were analyzed <italic>via</italic> descriptive data analysis.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>After phase 1, 65.5% (<italic>n</italic> = 5,646/8,617) of older adults had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The respondents expressed intention to vaccinate (39%, <italic>n</italic> = 3,390), requested to seek further information (25%, <italic>n</italic> = 2,138), reported access barrier (8%, <italic>n</italic> = 715), or were concerned of the vaccine adverse effects (3%, <italic>n</italic> = 288). Vaccination was refused by 24% (<italic>n</italic> = 2,086) of the respondents. Eventually 60.4% (<italic>n</italic> = 13,082/21,663) of them were vaccinated 3 months after COVE implementation.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>The COVE program increased the COVID-19 vaccination uptake of older adults from 84.6 to 96.3%. A person-centric proactive approach by healthcare workers addressed vaccine hesitancy and optimized vaccination. The outreach scheduling of vaccination appointments is key in promoting vaccination uptake among older adults.</p></sec>