Salud Pública

Vaccines directed against Alzheimer's Disease progression have entered clinical trials. Understanding attitudes and barriers to a potential Alzheimer's Disease vaccine are of vital importance as according to recent published literature, significant shifts in vaccine acceptance have occurred in older adults.

Brief survey administered to adults over age 50 (n = 168) exploring attitudes, acceptance or hesitancy of a potential Alzheimer's Disease vaccine RESULT: 91% would accept an FDA approved vaccine against Alzheimer's Disease. Only 41% would accept an experimental vaccine in a clinical trial primarily due to concerns about unknown risks. Age was not a factor in acceptance across groups. Family history of or known acquaintance with Dementia increased overall acceptance of a vaccine against Alzheimer's Disease. The primary reason for lack of acceptance was lack of trust in the healthcare system, however, their trust increased if recommended by their primary healthcare provider.

We have found that although these shifts have occurred towards non-AD vaccines, adults in our survey were overwhelmingly accepting of a potential Alzheimer's Disease vaccine. However, the majority of adults would wait for FDA approval rather than accept an experimental vaccine in a clinical trial.