Infection and Drug Resistance (Aug 2022)
Parental Attitudes Towards Vaccination Against COVID-19 in China During Pandemic
Abstract
Lingling Lu,1,* Wei Gu,2,* Hang Xie,3 Xu Wang,4 Liming Cao,1 Mingfeng Shan,1 Peng Wu,1 Ye Tian,1 Kai Zhou1 1Department of Infectious Disease, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Quality Management, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 3Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Endocrinology, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ye Tian; Kai Zhou, Department of Infectious Disease, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Guangzhou Road 72, Nanjing, 210000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-21-52862898, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: The Chinese government has authorized the emergency use of an inactivated vaccine for COVID-19 in children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years. This study aimed to investigate parents’ attitudes towards vaccinating their children against COVID-19 and influencing factors.Patients and Methods: Through an online questionnaire survey, we collected self-reported children’s demographic characteristics, physical conditions and parents’ attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination for children. The parents in the unwilling group received online consultation about the benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccine and were asked to complete the questionnaire again.Results: A total of 868 participants were recruited from July 2021 to August 2021 in Nanjing, China. Overall, 76.0% of parents were willing to accept vaccination for children. Parents’ willingness increased with children’s age (P=0.018) and height (P=0.034), but decreased if the children fell sick within previous one month (P=0.030). Most of the unwilling parents gave a higher score to the risk of vaccination (53.76 VS 40.18). Unsafety (63.8%) and unfamiliarity (24.0%) were their major concerns. After consultation with a health worker, 24% of the unwilling parents turned willing.Conclusion: Children’s age and recent physical condition are related to parents’ attitudes towards vaccination for children against COVID-19. The major concerns of parents are unsafety and unfamiliarity. Parents view health workers as a reliable source of vaccine information. A successful consultation with health workers to understand the benefits and risks of vaccination can increase parents’ willingness. This study provides insight into parents’ attitudes towards vaccination for children against COVID-19 in China and related influencing factors. Our findings could be referenced in establishing policies for vaccinating children against COVID-19 in China.Keywords: COVID-19, vaccine, vaccination willingness, children, China
