Awareness and Practices towards Vaccinating Their Children against COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study among Pakistani Parents
Zain Ul Harmain,
Noorah A. Alkubaisi,
Muhammad Hasnain
et al.
Abstract:There are typically lower COVID-19 vaccination rates among developing versus higher-income countries, which is exacerbated by greater vaccine hesitancy. However, despite the increasing evidence of safety, parents are still reluctant to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. This is a concern in countries experiencing successive waves, such as Pakistan. Consequently, the objective of this study was to gain better understanding and practice regarding parents vaccinating their children against COVID-19 in Pak… Show more
“…In contrast to our findings, Harmain et al . [ 20 ] found that 84.7% of parents did not consider COVID-19 to be a very serious issue, and 53.9% considered that their children were not at high risk of COVID-19. Significant inclination ( P <0.001) toward their children’s vaccination was seen among those parents possessing higher education, greater knowledge of COVID-19 and its vaccines, with comorbidities, and whose children got infected with the virus during COVID-19 waves.…”
Purpose:
COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and all age groups were equally affected. Coronavirus had devastating effects worldwide due to the emergence of new variants till vaccination was adopted to eradicate the transmission of the virus and restore normalcy. However, children were not included in the initial phase of vaccination. The purpose of the study was to assess the level of perception, attitude, and practice among parents toward the COVID-19 vaccination drive in children 10–12 years of age.
Design and Study:
The present research is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey including parents of children aged 10–12 years as participants. The survey was conducted between May 2022 and July 2022 with a sample size of 320.
Results:
A high willingness (80%) among parents was found for getting their children vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccines were perceived to be safe by the parents (59%) and efficacious (75%) for their children. Parents (67%) felt that the benefits of getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19 prevail over the risks of the vaccine. Parents 214 (67%) feel the need of getting their child vaccinated for sending them to school followed by availing of daycare facilities after school 54 (17%) among working parents. A significant association (P < 0.05) was seen between the variables of practice being followed by parents and their children as per COVID-19 norms. Parent’s negative attitude toward COVID-19 vaccination was associated with availability of no/unclear safety information (36%), fear of adverse effects of vaccine (3%), and false belief of having long-term immunity due to natural infection (32%). The positive attitude of parents was due to trust in positive information/news about the vaccine (42%), belief in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine (5%), acceptability for mild adverse effects (1%), and the necessity of vaccine to send children to schools (1%).
Conclusion and Recommendations:
The awareness of parents regarding COVID-19 vaccination for children was limited, high level of acceptance for vaccination was seen in our study. We recommend to continuing educational programs through mass campaigns to increase increasing awareness among parents for getting COVID-19 vaccination for their children. Vaccine hesitancy including vaccine safety concerns of parents should be addressed by presenting myths and facts related to COVID-19 vaccine using television, radio, and social media platforms.
“…In contrast to our findings, Harmain et al . [ 20 ] found that 84.7% of parents did not consider COVID-19 to be a very serious issue, and 53.9% considered that their children were not at high risk of COVID-19. Significant inclination ( P <0.001) toward their children’s vaccination was seen among those parents possessing higher education, greater knowledge of COVID-19 and its vaccines, with comorbidities, and whose children got infected with the virus during COVID-19 waves.…”
Purpose:
COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and all age groups were equally affected. Coronavirus had devastating effects worldwide due to the emergence of new variants till vaccination was adopted to eradicate the transmission of the virus and restore normalcy. However, children were not included in the initial phase of vaccination. The purpose of the study was to assess the level of perception, attitude, and practice among parents toward the COVID-19 vaccination drive in children 10–12 years of age.
Design and Study:
The present research is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey including parents of children aged 10–12 years as participants. The survey was conducted between May 2022 and July 2022 with a sample size of 320.
Results:
A high willingness (80%) among parents was found for getting their children vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccines were perceived to be safe by the parents (59%) and efficacious (75%) for their children. Parents (67%) felt that the benefits of getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19 prevail over the risks of the vaccine. Parents 214 (67%) feel the need of getting their child vaccinated for sending them to school followed by availing of daycare facilities after school 54 (17%) among working parents. A significant association (P < 0.05) was seen between the variables of practice being followed by parents and their children as per COVID-19 norms. Parent’s negative attitude toward COVID-19 vaccination was associated with availability of no/unclear safety information (36%), fear of adverse effects of vaccine (3%), and false belief of having long-term immunity due to natural infection (32%). The positive attitude of parents was due to trust in positive information/news about the vaccine (42%), belief in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine (5%), acceptability for mild adverse effects (1%), and the necessity of vaccine to send children to schools (1%).
Conclusion and Recommendations:
The awareness of parents regarding COVID-19 vaccination for children was limited, high level of acceptance for vaccination was seen in our study. We recommend to continuing educational programs through mass campaigns to increase increasing awareness among parents for getting COVID-19 vaccination for their children. Vaccine hesitancy including vaccine safety concerns of parents should be addressed by presenting myths and facts related to COVID-19 vaccine using television, radio, and social media platforms.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.