Caregiver Attitude toward COVID-19 Vaccine in an Urban Children’s Hospital - Abstract
Abstract Background: Control of the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) pandemic is reliant upon vaccination of a large percentage of the global population. Low rates of vaccine acceptance hinder these efforts. In May 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration granted Emergency Use Authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine in children ? 12 years of age. Our study objective was to assess vaccine acceptance among caregivers of children ? 18 years in an urban free-standing children’s hospital and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. Study Design: Cross sectional Survey. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of parents/caregivers of children ? 18 years of age regarding attitude towards COVID 19 vaccine. We collected: demographic information, immunization status of the child, history of COVID-19 in the family, and intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for parent and child. The association of demographic variables and caregiver vaccine hesitancy was examined using a multinomial logistic regression for vaccine hesitancy. Results: We noted a high rate (74.2%) of COVID 19 vaccine hesitancy in caregivers. Although acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination for children was higher in caregivers whose child was up-to-date on routine immunizations, received seasonal influenza vaccination and those who had received COVID-19
vaccination themselves, the overall acceptance rate was still low. Caregivers who identified as African American and mothers were more likely to express vaccine hesitancy while those with children>10 years and higher education levels were more likely to express vaccine acceptance. Conclusions: A high rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for children was noted in our urban cohort. While African American caregivers and mothers were more likely to express vaccine hesitancy, older age of children and higher parental education levels were associated with vaccine acceptance. Targeted interventions are needed to improve COVID 19 vaccine uptake rates in children particularly in the African American community.