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

Abstract

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 <0.001 to 0.003). A negative association of negative attitudes with parental acceptability was observed in the second round (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.

Associations between COVID-19 Vaccination Status and Self-Reported SARS-CoV-2 Infection among 8538 Children Aged 3–17 Years during a Massive COVID-19 Outbreak after China Changed Its Zero-COVID-19 Policy: A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…First, this was a cross-sectional and observational study, which could not establish causality. Second, it was a major limitation that our response rate was only 10.7%, which was lower than previous studies of similar topics in China [6,7,29,30]. As compared to these studies [6,7,29,30], our study did not involve face-toface contact with the participants or incentives.…”

“…Second, it was a major limitation that our response rate was only 10.7%, which was lower than previous studies of similar topics in China [6,7,29,30]. As compared to these studies [6,7,29,30], our study did not involve face-toface contact with the participants or incentives. In the literature, online surveys usually have a relatively low response rate [31].…”

“…COVID-19 seriously affected the health of children and adolescents [ 6 , 7 ]. Previous studies showed that children and adolescents under the age of 18 years accounted for 17.5% of all SARS-CoV-2 cases in the United States [ 8 ] and 16.7% in Germany [ 9 ].…”

Exploring mother-daughter communication and social media influence on HPV vaccine refusal for daughters aged 9-17 years in a cross-sectional survey of 11,728 mothers in China

“…This measurement is commonly used in previous studies. 33 , 45 This information included: 1) testimonials given by parents about daughters’ HPV vaccination; 2) negative information about HPV vaccines (i.e., concerns about efficacies and supplies, side effects of the vaccines); 3) negative information about other vaccine incidents in China (i.e., selling problematic vaccines and severe side effects); and 4) information that encourages parents to vaccine their daughters against HPV. Another validated measurement was used to measure thoughtful consideration about the veracity of information specific to HPV vaccines.…”

“… 32 Parents’ exposure to information related to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines (i.e., SARS-CoV-2 infection after completing primary vaccine series) on social media was associated with a higher COVID-19 vaccine refusal for children aged 3–11 years in China. 33 Misinformation related to vaccination is widespread on social media. 34 Previous studies showed that thoughtful consideration of the veracity of the information on social media could mitigate the negative impact of misinformation, 35 which was associated with higher acceptance of vaccination.…”