Vaccines (Jan 2023)

Changes in COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptability among Parents with Children Aged 6–35 Months in China—Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveys in 2020 and 2021

  • Kechun Zhang,
  • Xue Liang,
  • Karen Lau Wa Tam,
  • Joseph Kawuki,
  • Paul Shing-fong Chan,
  • Siyu Chen,
  • Yuan Fang,
  • He Cao,
  • Xiaofeng Zhou,
  • Yaqi Chen,
  • Tian Hu,
  • Hongbiao Chen,
  • Zixin Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11010170
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
p. 170

Abstract

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China is considering to offer COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 6–35 months. This study investigated the changes in COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and associated factors among parents with children aged 6–35 months in 2020 and 2021. Two rounds of cross-sectional online surveys were conducted among adult factory workers in Shenzhen, China. A subset of 208 (first round) and 229 (second round) parents with at least one child aged 6–35 months was included in the study. Parental acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination increased significantly from 66.8% in the first round to 79.5% in the second round (p = 0.01). Positive attitudes, perceived subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were associated with higher parental acceptability in both rounds of surveys (p values ranged from p = 0.02). No significant associations of exposure to information related to COVID-19 vaccination on social media with parental acceptability was found in either round of survey. Expanding the existing COVID-19 vaccination programs to cover children aged 6–35 months is necessary in China. Future programs should focus on modifying perceptions among parents to promote COVID-19 vaccination for children in this age group.

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