Caregivers' Intention to Vaccinate Their Children Under 12 Years of Age Against COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Multi-Center Study in Milan, Italy

Abstract

The impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the pediatric population is increasingly recognized. A widespread vaccination in childhood would provide benefits for children and might help ending the pandemic by enhancing community protection. Following recent approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) of Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech) for children aged 5–11 years, we aimed to investigate caregivers' intention to vaccinate their children <12 years of age against COVID-19. A structured questionnaire was administered to caregivers of children aged <12 years visiting the Emergency Department or the outpatient clinics in three major hospitals of Milan, Italy, from 20 September to 17 October 2021. A total of 612 caregivers were invited to participate and 604 accepted (response rate >98%). Three questionnaires were excluded due to compiling errors and 601 were included in the analysis. A total of 311 (51.7%) caregivers stated they would have their child vaccinated, 138 (23%) would refuse to vaccinate their child and 152 (25.3%) were unsure. The intention to vaccinate the child was higher in caregivers vaccinated against COVID-19, in those with a bachelor's degree or higher level of education, and in those with friends/acquaintances who became ill or died due to COVID-19. This study shows that increasing efforts are necessary to provide evidence-based tailored information to caregivers and to promote vaccination in this pediatric age group.

Learning from the Past to Improve the Future—Vaccine Hesitancy Determinants in the Italian Population: A Systematic Review

“…Another significant aspect is the distrust or doubts about vaccination against COVID-19 and its efficacy [ 20 , 21 , 24 , 27 , 34 , 38 , 44 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. As easily expected, the attitude of refusal towards vaccinations or the adoption of poorly protective behaviours constitutes a further preponderant element predisposing to VH against COVID-19 [ 24 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 42 , 48 , 51 ]. Another predisposing element is the lack of awareness of contracting the infection [ 18 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 42 , 44 , 46 , 49 ].…”

“…Another predisposing element is the lack of awareness of contracting the infection [ 18 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 42 , 44 , 46 , 49 ]. Furthermore, four studies found that knowing people who have contracted the COVID-19 disease affects the decision to undergo the vaccination [ 26 , 30 , 33 , 42 ]. Finally, the preference for natural immunity or having contracted COVID-19 before vaccination are both conditioning factors for the decision to undergo the vaccine [ 24 , 35 , 38 , 39 ].…”

“…Among the sociocultural factors, the one most frequently found associated with VH is a low level of education [ 18 , 26 , 27 , 30 , 32 , 40 , 41 , 44 , 50 , 51 , 53 ]. Information obtained through mass media or the internet, scarcity of information, and information obtained from non-medical people are associated with VH [ 18 , 23 , 27 , 37 , 50 , 52 ].…”

Decision-making in childhood vaccination: vaccine hesitancy among caregivers of under-5 children from a tertiary care institution in Eastern India

“…In global surveys, the caregivers' attitude towards paediatric COVID-19 vaccination ranged from low hesitancy (2.8%) in Brazil to a higher hesitancy of 23-44% in Italy. [32][33][34] Introducing new vaccines for the paediatric population is quite challenging and, at the same time, pivotal as paediatric and adolescent immunization is essential TherapeuTic advances in vaccines and immunotherapy for achieving a substantial degree of community protection and herd immunity. Primary healthcare providers and family physicians need to be offered technical and scientific training so that they can address the concerns rationally and scientifically.…”

Vaccination Open Day: A Cross-Sectional Study on the 2023 Experience in Lombardy Region, Italy

“…Considering the age variable, despite the greater adherence to the campaign by the over-60-year-old population (60.3%) [ 58 ], approximately 18.3% of the doses were administered in the 2–6-year-old population. The focus on vaccination in this population, attention on the part of parents or caregivers, has in fact been widely analyzed in the literature [ 29 , 59 , 60 , 61 ]. For this reason and in order to achieve greater compliance on the part of the pediatric patient as well as for their greater efficacy [ 62 , 63 ], trans nasal spray vaccines have been used in this population [ 61 ].…”