COVID-19 Vaccination Status in Adolescents with ADHD in Israel

Objective: To compare the rate of the administration of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations between adolescents diagnosed with ADHD and non-ADHD subjects.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on all adolescents aged 12-17 years registered at Dan Petah Tikva district in Israel from January 1st 2021 to October 31st 2021. Data on demographics, diagnoses and vaccination status were retrieved from the medical files.

Results: Of the 46,544 subjects included in the study, 8,241 (17.7%) were diagnosed with ADHD. Of them, 3% were PCR-COVID-19 positive. Among the ADHD patients, the older adolescents were more likely to be vaccinated: 48.8% (2652/5437) of ADHD patients aged 12-15 years were vaccinated, versus 59.6% (1671/2804) of ADHD patients aged 16-17 years. The ultra-orthodox Jewish ADHD adolescents were far less likely to be vaccinated (22.9%, 369/1609). Girls were also somewhat more likely to be vaccinated (55.4% girls vs. 50.9% boys were vaccinated).

Conclusion: Adolescents diagnosed with ADHD had a higher COVID-19 vaccination rate compared to their non-ADHD counterparts. The vaccine uptake was lower among Arab and ultra-orthodox Jewish populations.