601 - Caregivers' attitudes about COVID-19 vaccination for children

Despite the economic, social, and psychological toll of pediatric COVID-19 infections, uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among children has been limited. However, little is known about caregivers’ COVID-19 vaccine decision making for children.

Objective:

To characterize caregivers’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about COVID-19 vaccination for children.

Design/Methods:

Semi-structured interviews were conducted between June and December 2022 with 20 caregivers aged ≥18 years after telemedicine visits with a children’s health center in Washington, DC. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Constructs from the Health Belief Model were used to identify new and emerging themes in pediatric COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Results:

The majority of interviewees were female with a mean age of 37 years and identified as Black or African American (Table 1). Their children ranged in age between 3 months and 17 years. 70% of interviewees intended to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Interviewees generally recognized the risk of COVID-19 infection among children, but few explicitly recognized that children could develop severe disease. Caregivers expressed concerns about vaccine safety, effectiveness, and side effects (Table 2). A recurrent theme was caregivers’ desire for more information, including the age ranges for whom COVID-19 vaccination is recommended, the research and development process, and the safety profile. There was a clear thread of misinformation, as several interviewees expressed concerns about the potential effects of COVID-19 vaccines on children’s fertility and long-term health. Mistrust of the medical community may also hinder caregiver acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines for children, and one caregiver explicitly cited concerns about medical experimentation. However, caregivers overwhelmingly preferred to get vaccine information from their doctors. Notably, the majority of interviewees were willing to consider COVID-19 vaccination for their child to protect the health of the child and other family members.

Conclusion(s):

Even caregivers who intend to vaccinate their children have concerns about COVID-19 vaccines. Tailored messaging should clearly communicate pediatric COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, expected side effects, and the scientific rigor with which the vaccines were developed. As physicians are among the most trusted advisors, pediatricians should be equipped to provide strong recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination. Interventions to promote pediatric COVID-19 vaccination should aim to address misinformation, mistrust, and concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness.