Covid vax intentions among parents of children ages 6 months - 4 years

 Aaron M. Scherer, PhD¹; Courtney A. Gidengil, MD, MPH^2,3; Amber M. Gedlinske, MPH¹; et al

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.27437

Key Points

Question  What are parents’ intentions, concerns, and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination for their children aged 6 months through 4 years?

Findings  In this cross-sectional study of 2031 US adults with children aged 6 months through 4 years, half indicated they intended to get their child a COVID-19 vaccine at some point, but only one-fifth intended to do so within 3 months of the child’s eligibility. The top concerns about and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination for this age group related to COVID-19 vaccination safety and efficacy.

Meaning  These findings suggest that considerable efforts to increase parental COVID-19 vaccine confidence for children aged 6 months through 4 years may be needed to maximize COVID-19 vaccination for this age group.

Abstract

Importance  Children aged 6 months through 4 years have become eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, but little is known about parental intentions regarding, concerns about, or facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination for this age group.

Objectives  To evaluate parental intentions, concerns, and facilitators for COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 6 months through 4 years and to help inform the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ deliberations and recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 6 months through 4 years.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This cross-sectional study fielded an online survey from February 2 to 10, 2022, among a nonprobability sample of US parents of children aged 6 months through 4 years who were recruited through Qualtrics using quota-based sampling for respondent gender, race and ethnicity, and child age group.

Main Outcomes and Measures  COVID-19 vaccination intentions, time to COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 vaccination concerns and facilitators, and trusted COVID-19 vaccination locations for children aged 6 months through 4 years.

Results  The final weighted sample of 2031 participants (73.5% participation rate) had more respondents who identified as male (985; weighted percentage, 54.8%) or White (696; weighted percentage, 66.2%), were aged 25 to 49 years (1628; weighted percentage, 85.6%), had at least a bachelor’s degree (711; weighted percentage, 40.0%), lived in a metropolitan area (1743; weighted percentage, 82.9%) or the South (961; weighted percentage, 43.4%), or received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (1205; weighted percentage, 59.8%). Half of respondents (645; weighted percentage, 45.6%) indicated that they “definitely” or “probably” will vaccinate their child aged 6 months through 4 years once they became eligible. However, only one-fifth (396; weighted percentage, 19.0%) indicated they would get a COVID-19 vaccine for their child in this age group within 3 months of them becoming eligible for vaccination. Vaccine safety and efficacy were parents’ top concerns, and receiving more information about safety and efficacy were the top facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination for this age group. A doctor’s office or clinic and local pharmacy were the most trusted COVID-19 vaccination locations for this age group.

Conclusions and Relevance  These results suggest that only a minority of parents of children in this age group are eager to vaccinate their children within the first few months of eligibility, with widespread concerns about COVID-19 vaccination for this age group. Thus, considerable efforts to increase parental COVID-19 vaccine confidence for children aged 6 months through 4 years may be needed to maximize COVID-19 vaccination for this age group in the United States.

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