Parental Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake for Children over 5 Years of Age in Texas
Paula M. Cuccaro,
Jihye Choi,
Yordanos M. Tiruneh,
Journey Martinez,
Jing Xie,
Michelle Crum,
Mark Owens,
Jose-Miguel Yamal
Affiliations
Paula M. Cuccaro
Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Jihye Choi
Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Yordanos M. Tiruneh
Department of Preventive Medicine and Population Health, School of Medicine, The University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center, Tyler, TX 75708, USA
Journey Martinez
Coordinating Center for Clinical Trials, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Jing Xie
Coordinating Center for Clinical Trials, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Michelle Crum
Department of Preventive Medicine and Population Health, School of Medicine, The University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center, Tyler, TX 75708, USA
Mark Owens
Department of Political Science, The Citadel, Charleston, SC 29409, USA
Jose-Miguel Yamal
Coordinating Center for Clinical Trials, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children, yet parental hesitancy towards vaccinating children against the virus persists. We conducted a telephone-administered weighted survey in Texas to examine parents’ sociodemographic factors and medical conditions associated with COVID-19 vaccination intention for parents with unvaccinated children ages 5–17 years. We collected responses from 19,502 participants, of which 4879 were parents of children ages 5–17 years. We conducted multiple logistic regression with Lasso-selected variables to identify factors associated with children’s vaccination status and parents’ intention to vaccinate their children. From the unweighted sample, less than half of the parents (46.8%) had at least one unvaccinated child. These parents were more likely to be White, English-speaking, not concerned about illness, privately insured, and unvaccinated for COVID-19 themselves (p p < 0.001). Children’s vaccination is essential to reduce COVID-19 transmission. It is important to raise awareness about the value of pediatric COVID-19 vaccination while considering parents’ sociodemographic and medical circumstances.
