COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in Belgium: Sociodemographic and Socioeconomic Disparities - A Retrospective Cohort Study
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 发起方
- Sciensano
- 入组人数
- 5,341,584
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Number of participants who received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine
研究概览
简要总结
In January 2021, the vaccination campaign against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in Belgium. The vaccination campaign was conducted in several phases, with the first phase targeting priority groups starting in January 2021. The second phase began in June 2021 with the invitation of everyone aged 18 years and older before extending access to 12 years and older from summer 2021. Children aged 5-11 were also invited for vaccination from December 2021 onwards.
The presence of a social gradient in COVID-19 infections and subsequent outcomes has been clearly demonstrated. Individuals from lower socioeconomic groups, for example with lower income, lower education level or unemployed are more likely to be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 and to develop severe complications after the infection such as hospitalization, ICU admission or death. Certain sociodemographic characteristics such as male gender, older age, living in crowded households, or belonging to ethnic/racial minorities are also associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 infection and severe outcomes. In addition to disparities in infection, hospitalization and mortality, some studies have also documented a lower COVID-19 vaccination coverage among people from disadvantaged socioeconomic groups during COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite widespread vaccine promotion efforts and the fact that Belgium has the 7th highest full vaccine coverage in the European Union (89% of people over 18 years old had completed their primary course of vaccination on 08 April 2022), concerns regarding vaccine equity remain. Vaccine uptake depends on a range of factors, including the socio-cultural environment, pre-existing health needs and individual choice. Identifying differences in vaccination between population groups is crucial to assess the effectiveness of the vaccination strategy in Belgium and its relationship to the further spread of COVID-19.
The objective is to identify whether vaccination coverage has been equitable across Belgium and, if not, which groups of individuals are less likely to be covered by the COVID-19 vaccine, with respect to their sociodemographic (SD) and socioeconomic (SE) characteristics.
This study therefore aims to highlight SD and SE disparities in the uptake of the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Belgium among people of 18 years and over.
详细描述
- Study design and data sources
In this retrospective cohort study, the investigators aimed to unravel SE and SD disparities in the uptake of the first COVID-19 vaccine dose using data from the LINK-VACC project. This project was launched by Sciensano, the institute legally responsible for the surveillance of infectious diseases in Belgium (Royal Decree of 21/03/2018), to perform the post-authorization surveillance of COVID-19 vaccines in Belgium.
To that aim, selected variables from multiple existing national health and social sector registries were linked at an individual level using the unique Belgian social security number. The databases were linked within a pseudonymised environment hosted by Healthdata.be of Sciensano. For the present study, four databases were used :
- Vaccinnet+, the Belgian vaccine registry, which contains information on all COVID-19 vaccine doses administrated in Belgium. It includes demographical data of the vaccinated person (sex, age, postal code of residence), as well as data on the vaccinator (type (person or organization) and postal code) and on the administrated vaccine (brand of the vaccine, lot number, date of administration, date of registration).
- The COVID-19 Healthdata database containing data from COVID-19 laboratory tests performed in Belgium (data of sampling and test result).
- The STATBEL database provided by the Belgian Statistical Institute which contains variables related to socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics.
- The Common Base Registry for HealthCare Actor (CoBRHA) allowing the identification (by profession and specialty) of people who have been licensed to practice a healthcare profession in Belgium.
- Cohort definition
The population of interest includes all individuals of 18 years and older tested for COVID-19 at least once in Belgium until the 31st of August 2021 (which is the date of linkage between STATBEL, Vaccinnet+ and the COVID-19 Healthdata database) for whom SD and SE information from STATBEL database was available.
The cohort is built from Vaccinnet+ and the COVID-19 Healthdata database which includes all doses of vaccines administered and PCR and rapid antigenic tests performed in Belgium, respectively. As of 31 August 2021, 10 475 908 individuals had been tested and/or vaccinated at least once in Belgium according to Vaccinnet+ and the COVID-19 Healthdata database. On January 1, 2021, the official Belgian population included 11 521 238 inhabitants, demonstrating a high coverage of the total Belgian population by these two data sources (90.92%).
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Observational
- 观察模型
- Cohort
- 时间视角
- Retrospective
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- 未提供
排除标准
- 未提供
结局指标
主要结局
Number of participants who received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine
时间窗: 28 December 2020 - 31 August 2021
Uptake of the first COVID-19 vaccine dose until the 31st of August 2021 in Belgium
次要结局
未报告次要终点