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The resources regarding the vaccination for COVID-19 among the cancer patients is not well-defined. The ill-understood aspects of vaccination and its association with reduced immunity among the cancer patients has led to lower general vaccine uptake rates among cancer patients than in their healthy counterparts. In this study, we aimed to investigate the attitude and acceptance rates for the COVID-19 vaccine in cancer patients and identify predictive factors for vaccination that could be modified to increase vaccine uptake rates, via a paper-based survey. 

A total of 275 cancer patients, who attended the outpatient department in our institute, participated in this survey between January 2021 and June 2021. A paper-based survey was used to evaluate the awareness and acceptance for the COVID-19 vaccination among the cancer patients which included 9 questions. To assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy rates, participants were dichotomized into a vaccine-acceptant group and a vaccine-hesitant group (prefer to wait, only if vaccine is mandatory, or refuse). Respondents who previously had been vaccinated against COVID-19 were excluded from the statistical analysis. Significance was defined as 2-tailed P < .05. 

Out of the 275 surveys undertaken, 252 surveys were evaluated for final analysis. The acceptance rate was 67.8% among patients. Positive predictive factors found to be independently associated with vaccination were male gender, age more than 60 years, previous vaccination history, no deceased family member due to COVID-19 and more than 2 years since cancer treatment completion. Other factors found to impact the acceptance for the vaccination included the current stable health status. On counselling after understanding the awareness, there was a 21% conversion among the patients for acceptance of the vaccination. About 54.8% participants had discussed regarding the vaccine with their treating physicians. It was found that 66.7% of the patients considered themselves more vulnerable to COVID-19 than the general population. The major concern for vaccine refusal was the ongoing treatment and belief of adverse outcomes of vaccine on cancer and misconception of contraindication of vaccine in cancer. 

We present our data on the awareness and acceptance for the COVI-19 vaccination among the Indian cancer patients. The treating oncologists should play a major role in aiding cancer patients' decision-making concerning COVID-19 vaccines and thereby aid in making informed choice for the same. The misconception regarding COVID-19 vaccine and cancer needs to be addressed for better vaccination coverage.