Acceptance of childhood and adolescent vaccination against COVID-19 in France: a national cross-sectional study in May 2021

The Influence of Social Media and Institutional Trust on Vaccine Hesitancy in France: Examining Direct and Mediating Processes

Vaccine hesitancy (VH) remains an ongoing challenge in French society. This project explored how institutional trust and preference for information via social media (PISM) drive hesitancy. Across a large, nationally represented population, our findings show that PISM and trust are strongly correlated measures, with both independently predicting VH. Subsequent mediation tests show that social media operates as primarily an indirect contributor to VH through trust. Additional tests involving VH and non-VH typologies revealed that institutional trust consistently predicts greater general support for vaccines and reduced distrust in vaccination. Conversely, PISM directly drives vaccine distrust, with its impact on non-hesitancy fully mediated by institutional trust. Overall, these findings point to the relevance for researchers and public health deciders to address the nature by which people utilize social media information resources and how that interacts with levels of trust for national institutions.

Parents' perspectives on SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations for children: a qualitative analysis

BACKGROUND

Uptake of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years has been lower than anticipated in Canada. Although research has explored parental intentions toward SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for children, parental decisions regarding vaccinations have not been studied in-depth. We sought to explore reasons why parents chose to vaccinate or not vaccinate their children against SARS-CoV-2 to better understand their decisions.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study involving in-depth individual interviews with a purposive sample of parents in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. We conducted interviews via telephone or video call from February to April 2022 and analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

We interviewed 20 parents. We found that parental attitudes toward SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations for their children represented a complex continuum of concern. We identified 4 cross-cutting themes: the newness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and the evidence supporting their use; the perceived politicization of guidance for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination; the social pressure surrounding SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations; and the weighing of individual versus collective benefits of vaccination. Parents found making a decision about vaccinating their child challenging and expressed difficulty sourcing and evaluating evidence, determining the trustworthiness of guidance, and balancing their own conceptions of health care decisions with societal expectations and political messaging.

INTERPRETATION

Parents' experiences making decisions regarding SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for their children were complex, even for those who were supportive of SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations. These findings provide some explanation for the current patterns of uptake of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among children in Canada; health care providers and public health authorities can consider these insights when planning future vaccine rollouts.

Parents' Readiness to Vaccinate Their Children Aged 5 to 17 Years Against Covid-19 and Its Associated Factors in Lira District, Uganda

Background

Data on parents' readiness to vaccinate their children aged 5 to 17 years against COVID-19 is still scarce. This study assessed parents' readiness to vaccinate their children aged 5 to 17 years against COVID-19 and factors associated in Lira district, Uganda.

Methods and Materials

A cross-sectional survey employing quantitative methods was conducted between October and November 2022 among 578 parents of children aged 5-17 years in 3 sub-counties in Lira district. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics including means, percentages, frequencies, and odds ratios. Logistic regression was used to determine associations between the factors and the readiness of parents at a 95% level of significance.

Results

Out of 634 participants, 578 responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 91.2%. The majority of the parents (327, 56.8%) were female, had children aged between 12 and 15 years (266, 46.4%), and had completed primary education (351, 60.9%). Most of the parents were Christian (565, 98.4%), married (499, 86.6%), and had been vaccinated against COVID-19 (535, 92.6%). Results also indicated that 75.6% (ranging from 71.9% to 78.9%) of the parents were unwilling to vaccinate their children for the COVID-19 virus. The predictors of readiness were the age of the child (AOR: 2.02; 95% CI: 0.97-4.20; p=0.05) and lack of trust in the vaccine (AOR: 3.33; 95% CI: 1.95-5.71; p0.001).

Conclusion

Our study shows that parents' readiness to vaccinate their children aged 5 to 17 years was only 24.6%, which is suboptimal. The predictors of hesitancy were the age of the child and a lack of trust in the vaccine. Based on our results, the Ugandan authorities should provide health education interventions targeting parents to combat mistrust with respect to COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine and highlight the benefits of the vaccines.

Parents' reasons to vaccinate their children aged 5–11 years against COVID-19 in Italy

Objectives

The aims of this cross-sectional study were to investigate why parents decide to vaccinate, as well as the determinants, their children aged 5–11 years against COVID-19 in Italy.

Methods

The survey was conducted from January through May 2022. All parents/guardians who came in randomly selected days to immunization centers for the administration of the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to their child were asked to complete a questionnaire about socio-demographic characteristics, attitudes toward COVID-19 infection and vaccination, reason(s) regarding their decision to vaccinate their child, and source(s) of information.

Results

A total of 358 questionnaires were collected. Parent's perception that COVID-19 is a severe illness for the child, assessed using a 10-point Likert scale, was 7.5. The overall mean scores of the risk perception for their child of having the COVID-19 before and after the vaccination were 8.1 and 6.3. A significantly higher parents' level of risk perception for their child of having the COVID-19 after the vaccination has been observed among those not having a university degree, those with the child having at least one chronic medical condition, and those who perceived that COVID-19 is a severe illness for the child. The mean value of respondent trust in the information provided by the pediatricians on a 10-point scale Likert type was 7.6. Female, not having a university degree, higher perception that COVID-19 is a severe disease, not having received information about the vaccination from pediatricians, and needing information had a significantly higher concern of side effects after the vaccination. The most common reasons for vaccinating their children included wanting to protect the child against COVID-19, to attend the school with less risk, to prevent the transmission to family members, and to practice sport and other activities with less risks. Participants with a university degree were more likely to have vaccinated their child for attending the school and practicing sport and other activities with less risks.

Conclusions

More publicity should be promoted among parents of children aged 5–11 years which would increase the coverage rates and thus lower the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and reduce the occurrence of COVID-19.

Public attitudes and influencing factors toward COVID-19 vaccination for adolescents/children: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to systematically clarify attitudes and influencing factors of the public toward COVID-19 vaccination for children or adolescents.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a scoping review.

METHODS

This scoping review screened, included, sorted, and analyzed relevant studies on COVID-19 vaccination for children or adolescents before December 31, 2021, in databases, including PubMed, Elsevier, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Wiley.

RESULTS

A total of 34 studies were included. The results showed that the public's acceptance rate toward COVID-19 vaccination for children or adolescents ranged from 4.9% (southeast Nigerian mothers) to 91% (Brazilian parents). Parents' or adolescents' age, gender, education level, and cognition and behavior characteristics for the vaccines were the central factors affecting vaccination. The vaccine's safety, effectiveness, and potential side-effects were the main reasons affecting vaccination.

CONCLUSIONS

Realizing current public attitudes of COVID-19 vaccination for adolescents or children can effectively develop intervention measures and control the pandemic as soon as possible through herd immunity.

Barriers and facilitators of childhood COVID-19 vaccination among parents: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The acceptance of vaccination against COVID-19 among parents of young children plays a significant role in controlling the current pandemic. A wide range of factors that influence vaccine hesitancy in adults has been reported worldwide, but less attention has been given to COVID-19 vaccination among children. Vaccine hesitancy is considered a major challenge in achieving herd immunity, and it is more challenging among parents as they remain deeply concerned about their child's health. In this context, a systematic review of the current literature is inevitable to assess vaccine hesitancy among parents of young children to ensure a successful ongoing vaccination program.

METHOD

A systematic search of peer-reviewed English literature indexed in Google Scholar, PubMed, Embase, and Web of science was performed using developed keywords between 1 January 2020 and August 2022. This systematic review included only those studies that focused on parental concerns about COVID-19 vaccines in children up to 12 years without a diagnosis of COVID-19. Following PRISMA guidelines, a total of 108 studies were included. The quality appraisal of the study was performed by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).

RESULTS

The results of 108 studies depict that vaccine hesitancy rates differed globally with a considerably large number of factors associated with it. The highest vaccine hesitancy rates among parents were reported in a study from the USA (86.1%) and two studies from Saudi Arabia (>85%) and Turkey (89.6%). Conversely, the lowest vaccine hesitancy rates ranging from 0.69 and 2% were found in two studies from South Africa and Switzerland, respectively. The largest study (n = 227,740) was conducted in Switzerland while the smallest sample size (n = 12) was represented by a study conducted in the USA. The most commonly reported barriers to childhood vaccination were mothers' lower education level (N = 46/108, 43%), followed by financial instability (N = 19/108, 18%), low confidence in new vaccines (N = 13/108, 12%), and unmonitored social media platforms (N = 5/108, 4.6%). These factors were significantly associated with vaccine refusal among parents. However, the potential facilitators for vaccine uptake among respondents who intended to have their children vaccinated include higher education level (N = 12/108, 11%), followed by information obtained through healthcare professionals (N = 9/108, 8.3%) and strong confidence in preventive measures taken by the government (N = 5/81, 4.6%).

CONCLUSION

This review underscores that parents around the globe are hesitant to vaccinate their kids against COVID-19. The spectrum of factors associated with vaccine hesitancy and uptake varies across the globe. There is a dire need to address vaccine hesitancy concerns regarding the efficacy and safety of approved vaccines. Local context is inevitable to take into account while developing programs to reduce vaccine hesitancy. There is a dire need to devise strategies to address vaccine hesitancy among parents through the identification of attributing factors.