3 in 5 injecting drug users in Melbourne say they'd have a COVID-19 jab

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-11-10 03:00

Australia; NSW; VIC; WA

Pfizer-BioNTech_COVID-19_vaccine_(2020)_E By U.S. Secretary of Defense - CC BY 2.0

In a survey of 99 Melbournians who inject drugs, 57 (58 per cent) said they would 'definitely or probably' be vaccinated for COVID-19, while 22 (22 per cent) said they would not. The other 20 (20 per cent) were undecided. The most common reason given for avoiding vaccines was 'safety concerns'. The researchers say efforts to improve confidence in the safety of the vaccines among drug users could improve uptake in this vulnerable population.

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Journal/
conference: Drug & Alcohol Review

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Burnet Institute, Curtin University, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), The Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity in Society, The University of New South Wales

Funder: AP, LM and PD are supported by NHMRC Research Fellowships (#1174630, #1154839 and #1136908). The Illicit Drug Reporting System and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre are supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Health under the Drug and Alcohol Program. The Burnet Institute gratefully acknowledges the funding provided under the Victorian Research Operating Infrastructure Fund.

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