"I shall not poison my child with your human experiment" : Investigating predictors of parents' hesitancy about vaccinating younger children (<12) in Canada

Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd..

BACKGROUND: Since the approval of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for younger children (those under the age of 12), uptake has been low. Despite widespread vaccination among older children and adults, these trends may undermine public health efforts to manage future waves of SARS-CoV-2 or spill over into other childhood vaccines. The objectives of this study were to understand parents' intentions to vaccinate their children (under age 12) against SARS-CoV-2, and to explore reasons for and against SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

METHODS: A representative sample of parents of school-aged children (ages 3-11 years) from Canada's four largest provinces were invited in June 2021 to complete a survey on the impact of COVID-19 on schooling. The survey included specific questions on parents' intentions to vaccinate their child(ren) against SARS-CoV-2. Multinomial regression models were run to estimate associations between demographic factors, political affiliation and voting, concerns about individual / family health and vaccination intention.

RESULTS: A total of 74.0 % of parents (n = 288) intended to vaccinate their children with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, 18.3 % (n = 71) did not intend to vaccinate and 7.7 % (n = 30) were unsure. The strongest predictor of parental hesitancy was whether a parent had themselves been vaccinated. Other factors including past voting behaviour, dissatisfaction with the government's response to the pandemic, and relatively less concern about contracting SARS-CoV-2 were also correlated with hesitancy. Parents of older children were more likely to indicate plans to vaccinate their child(ren). Analysis of the reasons for hesitancy showed parents are concerned about the safety and side effects of the vaccine, as well as with processes of testing and approval.

INTERPRETATION: A considerable proportion of Canadian parents of younger school-aged children (ages 3-11) were unsure and/or hesitant about vaccinating their children against SARS-CoV-2. As well, a much larger proportion who are not necessarily hesitant have also not had their children vaccinated. Given the evolving nature of SARS-CoV-2, including the continued emergence of new variants, reaching younger children will be important for population health. Health providers should continue to work with government institutions to ensure clear communication regarding the safety, efficacy, and importance of child vaccines for reaching public health goals.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:42

Enthalten in:

Vaccine - 42(2024), 3 vom: 25. Jan., Seite 505-511

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Davidson, Adrienne M [VerfasserIn]
Burns, Samantha [VerfasserIn]
White, Linda A [VerfasserIn]
Perlman, Michal [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

COVID-19
COVID-19 Vaccines
Hesitancy
Immunization
Intention
Journal Article
Pandemic
Parent
Perceptions
Poisons
Vaccination

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 05.02.2024

Date Revised 05.02.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.12.073

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM366626388