PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jessica Widdifield
AU  - Lihi Eder
AU  - Simon Chen
AU  - Jeffrey C.  Kwong
AU  - Carol Hitchon
AU  - Diane Lacaille
AU  - J. Antonio  Aviña-Zubieta
AU  - Lawrence W.  Svenson
AU  - Sasha Bernatsky
TI  - COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake among individuals with Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases in Ontario, Canada between December 2020 and October 2021: A population-based analysis
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.211148
DP  - 2022 Jan 15
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.211148
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2022/01/10/jrheum.211148.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2022/01/10/jrheum.211148.full
AB  - Objective We assessed COVID-19 vaccine uptake among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) and the Ontario general population. Methods We studied all residents 16 years and older who were alive and enrolled in Ontario's universal health insurance plan as of December 14, 2020 when vaccination commenced (n=12,435,914). Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), psoriasis (PsO), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were identified using established disease-specific case definitions applied to health administrative data. Vaccination status was extracted from the provincial COVaxON registry. Weekly cumulative proportions of first and second doses up until October 3, 2021 were expressed as the vaccinated percentage of each disease group, and compared to the general Ontario population, and stratified by age. Results By October 3, 2021, the cumulative percentage with at least one dose was 82.1% for the general population, 88.9% for RA, 87.4% for AS, 90.6% for PsA, 87.3% for PsO, and 87.0% for IBD. There was also a higher total cumulative percentage with two doses among IMIDs (83.8-88.2%) vs the general population (78.0%). The difference was also evident when stratifying by age. Individuals with IMIDs in the youngest age group initially had earlier uptake than the general population but remain the lowest age group with two doses (70.6% in the general population vs. 73.7-79.2% across IMID groups). Conclusion While implementation of COVID-19 vaccination programs has differed globally, these Canadian estimates are the first to reassuringly show higher COVID-19 vaccine uptake among individuals with IMIDs.