Characterization of the COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in Patients With Chronic Diseases in a Large University-based Family Medicine Clinical Practice

Purpose: To characterize COVID-19 vaccine uptake in patients with chronic conditions at the large university-based Family Medicine practice serving a population with low COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Methods: A rolling panel of patients attributed to the practice was submitted monthly to the Chesapeake Regional Health Information Exchange (CRISP) to monitor patients’ vaccination status. Chronic conditions were identified using the CMS Chronic Disease Warehouse. An outreach strategy deploying Care Managers was developed and implemented. Associations between vaccination status and patients’ characteristics were examined using a multivariable Cox’s proportional hazard regression modeling. Results: Among 8469 empaneled adult (18+) patients, 6404 (75.6%) received at least 1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020 to March 2022. Patients were relatively young (83.4%