A Cross-Sectional Study of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Behaviours among People Living with HIV in British Columbia

Abstract Objective Although COVID-19 vaccination is important for People Living with HIV given their elevated infection and comorbidity risks, some PLHIV are hesitant to accept vaccination. Hence, we conducted a cross-sectional study in British Columbia, Canada, aimed to identify socio-economic and health-related factors predicting COVID-19 vaccine uptake and contributing to hesitancy among PLHIV. Methods A 34-item anonymous self-administered survey was disseminated to PLHIV accessing services through HIV and AIDS-related organisations’ e-newsletters between November 2022 and January 2023 in British Columbia. The survey included sociodemographic information, COVID-19 factors, HIV indicators, and the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted to detect significant associations between the sociodemographic characteristics, health-related factors and COVID-19 vaccine uptake using IBM® SPSS® 28 and significance level at p