POS0174 VACCINE UPTAKE AGAINST INFLUENZA AND PNEUMOCOCCAL INFECTIONS DURING THE SARS-CoV-2 PANDEMIC IN PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATIC DISEASES (CIRD)

Background: Data before the start of the pandemic had shown that vaccination coverage was low with 49.1% of CIRD patients having documented vaccination against pneumococci in the previous 5 years and 33.4% against influenza in the previous season 1. While influenza vaccination is recommended annually and pneumococcal vaccination every 5 years for all CIRD patients, a sequential vaccination with PCV13 followed by PPSV23 has been recommended for these patients to start with 2. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the date of the last vaccination of pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations between 2016 and 2021 in CIRD patients, and to compare this data with non-CIRD patients. In addition, we aimed to assess whether vaccination recommendations were followed. Methods: Patients with or without CIRD presenting to our tertiary center between February and April 2021 were asked to complete a structured questionnaire regarding vaccination. Patient characteristics and data from the vaccination card were collected. Chi-square tests were performed to analyze differences. Results: Out of 514 CIRD and 100 non-CIRD patients (Table 1), 270 CIRD (52.7%) vs 20 non-CIRD patients (20%) reported to have been vaccinated against pneumococci (pTable 1. Patient demographics and disease characteristics Conclusion: These results show a significant increase in the vaccination rate for non-corona vaccinations during the pandemic which may be due to intensive campaigns on the importance of vaccination and enhancing vigilance in CIRD patients and physicians. However, although vaccination coverage increased during the pandemic, vaccination uptake is still inadequate. To combat preventable diseases in general and in patients with CIRD in particular, more educational campaigns are needed to conquer vaccine hesitancy. REFERENCES: 1 Kiltz U, Celik A, Tsiami S, et al. Are patients with rheumatic diseases on immunosuppressive therapies protected against preventable infections? A cross-sectional cohort study. RMD Open 2021;7:e001499. doi:10.1136/ rmdopen-2020-001499. 2 Furer V, Rondaan C, Heijstek MW, et al2019 update of EULAR recommendations for vaccination in adult patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2020;79:39-52. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.