“I’m Off My Meds”: Public Perception of Interactions Between SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and Anti-Psoriatic Treatments Online
August 2022 | Volume 21 | Issue 8 | 901 | Copyright © August 2022
Published online July 20, 2022
Danielle Yee MDa, Rasika Reddy BAb, Sabrina Khan BSa, Manan Mehta BSa, Samiya Khan BSc, Nicole Maynard BSa, Caterina Zagona-Prizio BSd, April W. Armstrong MD MPHa
aKeck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
bUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
cLong School of Medicine, San Antonio, TX
dUniversity of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO
Abstract
Importance: Psoriasis patients may seek information about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and their diagnosis from social media platforms. Analyses of social media interactions may help guide dermatologists’ educational efforts during this pandemic. Objectives: This study analyzed the content and sentiment of online social media posts about the medication interaction between SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and anti-psoriatic therapies among psoriasis patients. Design: Publicly accessible Facebook and Reddit groups regarding psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis were identified. Posts uploaded between March 1, 2021, and July 31, 2021, with information about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, were extracted. Themes, sentiment scores, and engagement scores were assigned to each post. Results: 477 posts contained content pertaining to the vaccine and psoriatic medications. 19 (4%) of the posts contain negative sentiment, 232 (48.6%) contain neutral sentiment, and 226 (47.4%) contain positive sentiment. Several themes emerged from this study. A majority of posts (32.5%) contained concerns about holding or stopping medications prior to obtaining the vaccine. Other common concerns included fear of negative reaction (21.8%) and uncertainty about the ability to generate an efficient immune response to the vaccine while on anti-psoriatic medications (19.9%). Conclusions and Relevance: Concerns identified by our content analysis should be incorporated into education efforts to address the reasons for vaccine hesitancy among patients with psoriatic diseases. These patient concerns can also help guide our strategy for implementing evidence-based recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination. J Drugs Dermatol. 2022;21(8):901-905. doi:10.36849/JDD.6853
INTRODUCTION
Psoriasis affects approximately 7.55 million adults in the US and 125 million people worldwide.1,2 Social media, used by approximately 3.6 billion people worldwide in 2020,3 has provided a public forum for psoriasis patients to connect for social support and assistance with medical decision-making. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has given users a platform to discuss the virus and the vaccine from the safety of their homes. As of March 2, 2022, 35% of the US population and 36.9% of the global population remain not fully vaccinated.4,5 The global health threat of vaccine hesitancy is of utmost importance, especially given the rise in new variants. This study aims to characterize the public perception of the medication interactions between the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and anti-psoriatic systemic treatments.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Publicly accessible Facebook (FB_Psoriasis, FB_PsoriaticArthritisNetwork) and Reddit (r/Psoriasis, r/PsoriaticArthritis) groups were chosen due to widespread use of Facebook and the recent rise in the use of Reddit.6 We reviewed posts from these psoriatic disease groups between March 1, 2021, and July 31, 2021. Search terms included "vaccine," "vaccination,""Pfizer," "Moderna," "Johnson & Johnson," and "AstraZeneca." This study protocol was approved by the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board.
Descriptive and analytical statistics involving engagement, sentiment, and theme were conducted. Posts were assigned a sentiment of positive (1), negative (-1), or neutral (0). Posts were also assigned an engagement score determined by the sum of the likes, upvotes, and comments for each post.
