Study Finds High COVID Vaccination Rates Among Mentally Ill, But Gaps Persist

In a classic case of “good news, bad news,” a vast multinational study confirms that work toward COVID vaccination rates has worked. But that work is still unfinished.

The paper, appearing in Nature Communications, explains that the good news is that COVID vaccination rates remain high – regardless of one’s mental health condition. But the bad news is that those with untreated mental health conditions might be less likely to get vaccinated.

This research, based on data from seven cohort studies within the COVIDMENT consortium and compared against the Swedish national registers, offers new insight into vaccination trends among this already vulnerable demographic

Methodology and Results

The study’s authors look at data pulled from seven studies that spanned five countries – Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia, and Scotland – as part of the COVIDMENT consortium. The data covered more than 325,000 individuals. The Swedish National Registry provided data points for more than 8 million people.

The researchers found that 85 percent of individuals received the first dose of the COVID vaccine (until Sept. 30, 2021).

“The high vaccination coverage among most individuals with mental illness shows that the COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been successful,” lead author Mary Barker, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, said in a press release.

The team determined mental illness using self-reported measures, clinical diagnoses, and prescription data. By pooling results through meta-analyses, the research revealed that most individuals with mental illness showed no significant difference in vaccination rates compared to the general population.

But, the Swedish registry data revealed a small dropoff – 9 percent – in the uptake of both the first and second vaccine doses among those with mental illness. This reduction appeared to be more noticeable among those not using psychiatric medications. For example, those struggling with substance use disorder were 16 percent less likely to be vaccinated.

All of this, the authors concluded, suggests that those managing mental health conditions without medical help could be at higher risk of lower vaccination rates.

Pushing For Further COVID Research

The researchers wanted to clear up earlier conflicting reports about the relationship between mental illness and COVID-19 vaccine rates. Some studies linked schizophrenia and substance use disorders with lower vaccine uptake. Others found higher vaccination rates among individuals with anxiety or depression.

This new analysis suggests that medication status may play a key role in these trends, as individuals using psychiatric medications such as antidepressants tend to have similar vaccination rates as the general population.

But the team also insisted that more research should follow.

“More research is needed to explore the reasons behind these associations in order to improve current and future vaccination strategies and ultimately ensure equitable protection against infectious diseases,” Barker added. “As individuals with mental illness are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes, high vaccination coverage is especially important in this group.”

In short, these findings highlight the need for more targeted public health interventions to address lower vaccination rates among specific subgroups, particularly those managing mental health conditions without medication – or help of any kind.

Further Reading

Lockdowns May Have Accelerated Brain Aging, Especially in Girls

Rethinking Mental Health in a Post-COVID World

New Research Validates Long COVID’s Existence