Parental attitudes towards vaccination against COVID‐19 of children 5–11 years old in Greece

Abstract

Rationale Vaccinating children against COVID‐19 is critical to contain the ongoing pandemic. Aims/Objectives The aim of the present study was to assess parents' and caregivers' intention to vaccinate their 5–11 years old children against COVID‐19 and to estimate the association between vaccination intention and sociodemographic, clinical and contextual factors. Method We conducted a questionnaire‐based survey on a convenience sample of parents in Patras, Western Greece. Results Out of 366 study participants, around 48% reported their intention to vaccinate their child. The main factors associated with positive attitudes were paediatrician recommendation, parental vaccination, and reliance on the healthcare providers for decision making. Of note, 80% of the 190 parents who did not intend to vaccinate their children would vaccinate them if the paediatrician recommended it. Conclusion Interventions to further train healthcare professionals to establish rapport with parents, and to provide adequate information about vaccinations are crucial to address concerns related to COVID‐19 vaccine benefits for children.

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

“…Parent self-vaccination [ 54 , 64 , 90 , 92 , 101 , 113 , 117 , 119 , 120 , 122 , 125 , 127 , 128 , 132 , 134 , 136 ] or their willingness for self-vaccination [ 65 , 76 , 77 , 86 , 88 , 92 , 98 , 103 , 125 , 127 , 129 ] showed positive association with parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children in almost all studies. Just one study reported that among participants vaccinated against COVID-19, only 29.0% were willing to vaccinate their children [ 80 ].…”

“…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.…”

Attitudes and perceptions of mothers towards childhood vaccination in Greece: lessons to improve the childhood COVID-19 vaccination acceptance

“…Among them, our study showed that the majority of mothers agreed or remained neutral on the question related to the commercial purpose of vaccines, while a prior study revealed that some mothers support the link between vaccines and autism ( 66 ). A recent study in Greece identified the fear of vaccine-related side effects as the main reason of childhood COVID-19 vaccination refusal, while conspiracy theories (vaccines have other purposes) was not a popular reason ( 69 ). To develop a full picture of the role of conspiracy theories on childhood vaccination uptake in Greece, additional studies will be needed.…”

Parental and Pediatricians’ Attitudes towards COVID-19 Vaccination for Children: Results from Nationwide Samples in Greece

“…Multiple factors have already been associated with vaccine hesitancy among adults for both themselves and their children, such as socioeconomic factors and health status, personal beliefs, social media influence, perceived childhood COVID-19 susceptibility and severity, vaccine safety and efficacy concerns, and physicians’ recommendations and beliefs [ 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. For children in particular, primary care providers’ and pediatricians’ recommendations play a critical role to foster an environment of trust for the widespread and targeted roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines [ 12 , 13 ]. Despite the existing evidence on factors and characteristics associated with vaccination uptake, less is known about both parental and pediatricians’ attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination for children from 5 to 17 years of age in Greece, which was authorized at the end of 2021 [ 14 ].…”