Parental Vaccine Hesitancy and Childhood Influenza Vaccination

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To quantify the prevalence of parental vaccine hesitancy (VH) in the United States and examine the association of VH with sociodemographics and childhood influenza vaccination coverage. METHODS: A 6-question VH module was included in the 2018 and 2019 National Immunization Survey-Flu, a telephone survey of households with children age 6 months to 17 years. RESULTS: The percentage of children having a parent reporting they were “hesitant about childhood shots” was 25.8% in 2018 and 19.5% in 2019. The prevalence of concern about the number of vaccines a child gets at one time impacting the decision to get their child vaccinated was 22.8% in 2018 and 19.1% in 2019; the prevalence of concern about serious, long-term side effects impacting the parent’s decision to get their child vaccinated was 27.3% in 2018 and 21.7% in 2019. Only small differences in VH by sociodemographic variables were found, except for an 11.9 percentage point higher prevalence of “hesitant about childhood shots” and 9.9 percentage point higher prevalence of concerns about serious, long-term side effects among parents of Black compared with white children. In both seasons studied, children of parents reporting they were “hesitant about childhood shots” had 26 percentage points lower influenza vaccination coverage compared with children of parents not reporting hesitancy. CONCLUSIONS: One in 5 children in the United States have a parent who is vaccine hesitant, and hesitancy is negatively associated with childhood influenza vaccination. Monitoring VH could help inform immunization programs as they develop and target methods to increase vaccine confidence and vaccination coverage.

Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months Among Children Born in 2016 and 2017 — National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2017–2019

“…Observed coverage was also lower among children living in poverty. Although this could indicate challenges accessing VFC, for which many of these children likely qualify, lower family income has also been associated with more parental vaccine hesitancy ( 5 ). Strategies for responding to vaccine hesitancy and other barriers to vaccination are described in a framework newly developed by CDC and its partners called Vaccinate with Confidence ( 6 ), which outlines activities designed to increase vaccination coverage by helping to protect communities, empower families, and stop vaccination-related myths.…”

Political Affiliation and Race Associated With Parents’ Intentions to Have a COVID-19 Vaccination but Not With History of Refusing to Vaccinate a Child: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This raises concerns because prior research shows parental vaccination beliefs and behaviors are signi cantly associated with child immunization status; children of parents who report being "hesitant about childhood shots" had 26% lower u vaccine coverage than children of non-hesitant parents. [17] The results suggest that a high proportion of children and parents may ultimately not get the COVID-19 vaccine, unless special efforts are made. This is of note given the important role that younger adults and pediatric populations play in sustaining SARS-CoV-2 transmission.…”

Vaccine Hesitancy in North Carolina: The Elephant in the Room?

“…Hesitancy is a contributor to vaccine coverage gaps in North Carolina. According to data from the National Immunization Survey, approximately 20% of parents in North Carolina are vaccine hesitant [9]. Many parents in North Carolina choose to delay or space out vaccines for their young children as opposed to following recommended schedules.…”

“…Timely longitudinal data are needed to inform proactive and tailored interventions to mitigate vaccine hesitancy in North Carolina. Questions that specifically probe for vaccine hesitancy are beginning to be incorporated into existing periodic population-based surveys, Vaughan SIDEBAR such as the National Immunization Survey [9]. Similarly, the routine use of measures that screen for or predict vaccine hesitancy in primary care settings, especially during pregnancy and well-child visits, could help provide early insights into vaccination behaviors.…”