Parental COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy for Children in Romania: National Survey

Marcau, Flavius; Peptan, Cătălin; Nedelcuta, Ramona Mihaela; Bãleanu, Vlad Dumitru; Băleanu, Anca Roxana; Niculescu, Bogdan

doi:10.3390/vaccines10040547

Cited by 9 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Studies [ 11 ] show that confidence in the mandatory vaccines administered during childhood is not a constant factor in people’s decision to vaccinate against COVID-19 [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], since the decision did not belong to them at that time (being minors, parents/legal guardians decided for them). Moreover, according to Mărcău et al [ 10 , 11 ], people who chose not to vaccinate place sufficiently high confidence in the optional vaccines, but do not place confidence in the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines [ 10 , 11 ]. The minimum confidence rate for the optional vaccines ( Table 4 ) is represented by the age groups 21–25 years (91.8%) and 66+ (93.3%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The level of trust that participants show in “fake news” information, categorized as conspiracy theories against the vaccine, is significantly lower than for people who did not choose to vaccinate against COVID-19 [ 10 , 11 ]. In the case of the sample presented in our research, we find extremely low trust in such information ( Table 8 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, the vaccination rate is not satisfactory in some countries [ 7 , 8 ], due to people’s refusal to receive one of the approved vaccines or booster doses [ 9 ]. The reasons behind the rejection or hesitation to be vaccinated against COVID-19 have been addressed in various studies [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] on the issue in Romania.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The information presented by officials consisted of urging people to choose vaccination and to obtain information from reliable sources (doctors, officials, etc.). We believe that the low vaccination rate is due to a flawed strategy of promoting real information about vaccination, so that “fake news” information has gained followers [ 10 , 11 ]. The media has played a questionable role to say the least in presenting both pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination views as equally important.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With this study, we aim to provide qualitative research on the reasons behind the influence and acceptance of vaccination among people in Romania [ 11 ]. The adequate number of questionnaires applied (2297) allows us to draw such conclusions and to present the reasons that positively influence the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine inoculation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Survey upon the Reasons of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance in Romania

2022

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Aim: The present study aims to observe the reasons for which the participants have chosen to uptake one of the COVID-19 vaccines approved in Romania. Thus, it will help us to determine whether the reasons are medical in nature, with the respondents’ scope to stay healthy, or if there are other motivations. High rates of vaccine acceptance are essential in the struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic, and trust indicators in other inoculations may be vital for the good management of the vaccination campaign. Methods: The research consisted in applying an online questionnaire in the period January–March 2022 during the fifth wave of COVID-19. The individuals in the target group had to comply with three conditions: they should be inoculated, at least 18 years of age and Romanian residents. The questionnaire was administered to 2297 people and structured to obtain socio-demographic data, determine confidence in mandatory and optional vaccines (rotavirus, hepatitis A, meningococcal vaccine, etc.) and extract the reasons why respondents chose to be vaccinated. Results: The data extracted from the questionnaire reveal a high rate of confidence of participants in the vaccines included in the national vaccination scheme (98.6%) and in the optional vaccines other than anti-COVID-19 (97.2%). Of the respondents, 23.4% had at least one positive test for COVID-19. Although the entire sample is vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the reasons behind the decision to vaccinate are not only medical in nature, thus, 18.3% were motivated by “protecting their own health/protection against the virus”, 17% due to “fear of the disease”, 8.8% for getting back to normal life and ending the pandemic and 8.5% due to government restrictions/vaccination certificate. Conclusions: In our study, we were able to validate the research hypothesis that the reasons for vaccine acceptance are multiple and not only medical (health protection, existing co-morbidities, etc.) and to show that although vaccination has been accepted, some participants believe in conspiracy theories, including those that try to convince people of the harmfulness of the vaccine. In addition, by applying Pearson, Kendall and Spearman correlation tests, we observed that indicators showing high confidence in optional vaccines relate strongly with the decision to vaccinate against COVID-19.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Survey upon the Reasons of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance in Romania

2022

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Analysis regarding the impact of ‘fake news’ on the quality of life of the population in a region affected by earthquake activity. The case of Romania–Northern Oltenia

Mărcău,

Peptan,

Băleanu

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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PurposeThe study aims to examine the impact of the wave of seismic activity in the northern region of Oltenia (Gorj County, Romania) in February 2023 and the belief in ‘fake news’ (circulated regarding causality, manifestations, and future developments of the seismic activity) on the quality of life of the affected population. It was considered opportune to conduct this study, given the novelty of such a situation, as the mentioned geographical area is not known to have a high seismic risk.MethodsThe study was built based on the questionnaire to which 975 respondents, present/residing in Gorj County during the earthquakes and at least 14 days after, and with a minimum age of 18 years, responded. The data was collected between February 27, 2023, and March 31, 2023, at a reasonable time interval from the recording of the first seismic event in the region, assuming that the respondents’ opinions regarding the negative impact of seismic events on societal life are well crystallized. The aim was to obtain information and analyze it in order to establish the respondents’ perception regarding the negative effects of seismic activity and the elements of “fake news” promoted in this context on the quality of life of individuals in the region.ResultsOur study indicates that individuals who are not concerned, due to their disbelief in “fake news” information, about the possibility of new strong earthquakes in the mentioned area feel the best physically, having an average satisfaction level of 82.80 (with a standard deviation of 19.70) on the WHOQOL-BREF scale. On the other hand, those who believed in the fake news experienced the lowest levels of psychological well-being, with an average satisfaction of 60.80 (and a standard deviation of 21.98). The WHOQOL-BREF is an instrument that assesses the quality of life across four distinct domains, and this study emphasizes the importance of accurate and trustworthy information for people’s well-being.ConclusionThe results of the study highlight that the quality of life indicators of people in the geographic area affected by the wave of seismic movements are negatively impacted due to the release of “fake news” in the public domain regarding the cause of seismic movements in Gorj county (and the previous earthquakes in Turkey) and their future manifestations and developments (the possibility of high magnitude seismic movements), as well as the lack of information provided by the public authorities on the issue at hand (causes, effects, future manifestations, management measures).

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Has COVID-19 Modified the Weight of Known Systemic Inflammation Indexes and the New Ones (MCVL and IIC) in the Assessment as Predictive Factors of Complications and Mortality in Acute Pancreatitis?

et al. 2022

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We aimed at evaluating the prognostic capacity of the inflammatory indices derived from routine complete blood cell counts in two groups of patients with acute pancreatitis from two different time periods, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a high incidence of complications with surgical risk and mortality was found. Two new markers were introduced: the mean corpuscular volume to lymphocyte ratio (MCVL) and the cumulative inflammatory index (IIC), which were calculated at a baseline in the two groups of patients. Of the already established markers, none of them managed to effectively predict the complications with surgical risk and mortality, with a decrease of less than 50% in specificity in the peri-COVID group. The MCVL had the best prediction of complications with surgical risk in both the pre-COVID and peri-COVID groups, validated it as an independent factor by multivariate analysis. The IIC had the best prediction of mortality in both periods and was proven to be an independent factor by multivariate analysis. As the IIC predicted death best, we tested the occurrence of death and found that patients with PA who had an IIC > 12.12 presented a risk of death 4.08 times higher in the pre-COVID group and 3.33 times higher in the peri-COVID group. The new MCVL and IIC independent markers had a superior sensitivity and specificity in predicting surgical risk complications and, respectively, mortality in the group of patients with acute pancreatitis during the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes them widely applicable in populations with modified immune and inflammatory status. Conclusions: In patients with acute pancreatitis, MCVL has a significant predictive value regarding complications with surgical risk (abscess, necrosis, and pseudocyst), and the IIC has a significant predictive value for mortality.

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Parental COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy for Children in Romania: National Survey

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

Survey upon the Reasons of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance in Romania

Survey upon the Reasons of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance in Romania

Analysis regarding the impact of ‘fake news’ on the quality of life of the population in a region affected by earthquake activity. The case of Romania–Northern Oltenia

Has COVID-19 Modified the Weight of Known Systemic Inflammation Indexes and the New Ones (MCVL and IIC) in the Assessment as Predictive Factors of Complications and Mortality in Acute Pancreatitis?

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