{"doi":"10.1101/2021.10.29.21265669","title":"Correlates of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among People who Inject Drugs in the San Diego-Tijuana Border Region","abstract":"Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are vulnerable to acquiring SARS-CoV-2 but their barriers to COVID-19 vaccination are under-studied. We examined correlates of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among PWID in the U.S.-Mexico border region, of whom only 7.6% had received ≥one COVID-19 vaccine dose by September, 2021. Methods: Between October, 2020 and September, 2021, participants aged ≥18 years from San Diego, California, USA and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico who injected drugs within the last month completed surveys and SARS-CoV-2, HIV, and HCV serologic testing. Logistic regressions with robust standard error estimation via generalized estimating equations identified factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, defined as being unsure or unwilling to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Results: Of 393 participants, 127 (32.3%) were vaccine hesitant. Older participants, those with greater food insecurity, and those with greater concern about acquiring SARS-CoV-2 were more willing to be vaccinated. Higher numbers of chronic health conditions, having access to a smart phone or computer, and citing social media as one's most important source of COVID-19 information were independently associated with vaccine hesitancy. COVID-19-related disinformation was independently associated with vaccine hesitancy (adjusted odds ratio: 1.51 per additional conspiracy theory endorsed; 95% confidence interval: 1.31-1.74). Conclusions: Nearly one third of PWID in the San Diego-Tijuana border region reported COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, which was significantly influenced by exposure to disinformation. Interventions that improve accurate knowledge and trust in COVID-19 vaccines are needed to increase vaccination in this vulnerable population.","journal":"medRxiv","year":2021,"id":214649,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":9,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.7612,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2021-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":666151,"name":"Daniela Abramovitz","orcid":"0000-0002-2969-7193","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":516177,"name":"Alicia Vera","orcid":"0000-0002-8708-8169","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":667125,"name":"Carlos F. Vera","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":409490,"name":"Gudelia Rangel","orcid":"0000-0003-3376-152X","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":666152,"name":"Irina Artamónova","orcid":"0000-0003-4584-4832","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":404096,"name":"Thomas L. Patterson","orcid":"0000-0003-2311-6164","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":667126,"name":"Rylie A Mitchell","orcid":null,"position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":270180,"name":"Angela R. Bazzi","orcid":"0000-0001-6828-1919","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":301815,"name":"Steffanie A. Strathdee","orcid":"0000-0002-7724-691X","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":30,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-18T23:52:46.604690Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}