Aims: People with haematological malignancies (HM) are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection and death due to underlying immune deficiency and impaired vaccine responses. From March 2021, COVID-19 vaccination was offered to patients with HM, as part of the Australian COVID-19 vaccination rollout program. This study sought to ascertain whether vaccine hesitancy was a barrier to optimal vaccine uptake and explored the attitudes of people with HM towards COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: Between June and October 2021, an online survey was distributed to adults with HM at nine Australian health services. The survey collected sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and attitudes towards COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination using the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Scale, the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence and Complacency Scale, and the Disease Influenced Vaccine Acceptance Scale-Six (DIVAS-6).

Results: Of the 869 survey participants (mean age 64.2 years, 43.6% female), 741 (85.3%) reported receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Unvaccinated status was significantly associated with younger age, English as a non-dominant language, and shorter duration since diagnosis. Participants who were female or spoke English as their non-dominant language reported more negative attitudes towards vaccine side-effects. Unvaccinated participants were more likely to report greater concerns about the vaccine impacting on their HM and treatment (DIVAS-6 Vaccine Vulnerability subscale score: B (SE) = 2.71 (0.35), p < 0.001). They were also more likely to report greater vaccine complacency (DIVAS-6 Disease Complacency subscale score: B (SE) = 1.79 (0.28), p < 0.001).

Conclusions: People with HM reported high vaccine uptake, however, participants who are recently diagnosed with malignancy, female, younger age or for whom English is a non-dominant language may benefit from targeted education strategies to address their vaccine concerns. Clinicians are well-positioned to address their patients’ specific vaccine concerns and support the decision-making process, particularly with the need for COVID-19 vaccine boosters.