COVID-19 vaccination uptake in people with multiple sclerosis compared to the general population

Objective To determine the COVID-19 vaccine uptake among people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) compared to the general population in Croatia. Methods Data from all pwMS entered in the MS Base register until March 24th, 2022 were extracted including age, sex, MS phenotype, disease-modifying therapy (DMT), and date of COVID-19 vaccination. Data on the general population of Croatia were obtained from the vaccination register of the Croatian Institute of Public Health. Results 64.4% pwMS were fully COVID-19 vaccinated which was comparable to 66.3% of the general population. More pwMS were fully vaccinated in the age group 20–24 (74.1% vs 51.7%), and fewer pwMS were fully vaccinated in the age group 65–69 (33.3% vs 80.4%) compared to the general population of the same age group, respectively. PwMS who received at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine were older (40.5 vs 37.6 years, p = 0.01), had higher EDSS (2.0 vs 1.0, p = 0.025), and had longer disease duration (6.39 vs 5.35 years, p = 0.02), were more likely to have progressive disease course (p = 0.049) and were on high efficacy DMTs (p = 0.045) compared to unvaccinated pwMS. Longer disease duration positively predicted vaccine uptake. Conclusion Croatia has suboptimal COVID-19 vaccination uptake without a significant difference between the general population and pwMS.