Chinese Parent Intention to Vaccinate Children With Special Diseases Against COVID-19

Abstract

Background: Information on the intention of parents of children with special diseases to vaccinate their children against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is scarce.Methods: In this survey, all participants (n = 914) were enrolled from a tertiary children's hospital between September 2020 and April 2021. A face-to-face questionnaire interview was conducted to collect information on the special diseases of children and parental attitudes about the COVID-19 vaccine. We compared the demographic and disease factors between the group of parents who were willing to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 and the group who were unwilling to vaccinate.Results: Among 941 children, 58.1% (n = 547) were boys. The Mean age was 1.4 (SD 1.9) years. If the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available for the child, 470 (49.9%) of parents were willing to provide vaccination for their children. The less the education levels of the father or mother, the more likely they were to vaccinate their children (P = 0.003, P = 0.007). However, more intentions to vaccinate were provided in parents of children with COVID-19 prevention and control education (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Our findings provided evidence that some parents are willing to vaccinate their children with special diseases against COVID-19. Professional knowledge about COVID-19 prevention and control may contribute to increased parental intention.

Worldwide Estimation of Parental Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine for Their Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Source of information regarding the vaccine influenced parents’ decision for their children’s vaccination. When they received information from healthcare providers, physicians, or pediatrics, they reported more willingness to vaccinate their children [ 59 , 80 , 84 , 96 , 99 , 128 , 134 , 136 ]. Social media played different roles.…”

Evaluating COVID-19 Vaccine Willingness and Hesitancy among Parents of Children Aged 5–11 Years with Chronic Conditions in Italy

“…The value of the willingness is unsatisfactory, and it is below a recent estimate of 49.9% in China, among parents of children with special diseases, with a mean age of 1.4 years, and more willingness was found for those with congenital heart diseases [ 16 ] and it is higher of 23% observed in Taiwan among caregivers of children with a mean age of 11.3 years with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ 15 ]. Other surveys among parents of healthy children of similar age have observed considerably higher prevalence.…”

“…In Italy, the intention to accept a COVID-19 vaccine with certainty in the general population ranged from 64.5% [ 12 ] to 84.1% [ 9 ], whereas in parents/guardians of children aged < 18 years old, the value was 60.4% [ 13 ], and in those aged 12–18 years, was 82.1% [ 14 ]. However, a relative paucity of data exists, at present, investigating parental willingness and hesitancy of COVID-19 vaccination for their children with chronic conditions [ 15 , 16 ].…”

The COVID-19 pandemic in children and young people during 2020-2021: A complex discussion on vaccination

“…The work on ethical and legal aspects and the debate on the costs and benefits of vaccinating minors have led to another important area of research: using representative population-based surveys to establish caregivers’ willingness to vaccinate minors and their vaccine hesitance [ 103 - 134 ]. In November 2020, one of the first such surveys was performed by the International COVID-19 Parental Attitude Study (COVIPAS) Group.…”

“…In China, parents' willingness to vaccinate their children was high from the start, at 70%-87% [ 105 , 120 , 122 , 133 ]. However, among 941 children with special diseases, only 50% of parents were willing to provide vaccination for their children [ 134 ]. The perception that a family member would support them in having their children take up COVID-19 vaccination was an important factor in their decision [ 105 ].…”