Parental Attitudes Towards Vaccination Against COVID-19 in China During Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose

The Chinese government has authorized the emergency use of an inactivated vaccine for COVID-19 in children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years. This study aimed to investigate parents’ attitudes towards vaccinating their children against COVID-19 and influencing factors.

Patients and Methods

Through an online questionnaire survey, we collected self-reported children’s demographic characteristics, physical conditions and parents’ attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination for children. The parents in the unwilling group received online consultation about the benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccine and were asked to complete the questionnaire again.

Results

A total of 868 participants were recruited from July 2021 to August 2021 in Nanjing, China. Overall, 76.0% of parents were willing to accept vaccination for children. Parents’ willingness increased with children’s age (P=0.018) and height (P=0.034), but decreased if the children fell sick within previous one month (P=0.030). Most of the unwilling parents gave a higher score to the risk of vaccination (53.76 VS 40.18). Unsafety (63.8%) and unfamiliarity (24.0%) were their major concerns. After consultation with a health worker, 24% of the unwilling parents turned willing.

Conclusion

Children’s age and recent physical condition are related to parents’ attitudes towards vaccination for children against COVID-19. The major concerns of parents are unsafety and unfamiliarity. Parents view health workers as a reliable source of vaccine information. A successful consultation with health workers to understand the benefits and risks of vaccination can increase parents’ willingness. This study provides insight into parents’ attitudes towards vaccination for children against COVID-19 in China and related influencing factors. Our findings could be referenced in establishing policies for vaccinating children against COVID-19 in China.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• vaccine
• vaccination willingness
• children
• China

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all volunteers who participated in this study and also thank the investigators contributed to the site work of this study.

Disclosure

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.