To the Editor:
AlHajri et al surveyed 1038 parents to determine their willingness to vaccinate against influenza as well as a coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) future vaccine.
Although AlHajri et al found a low rate of overall vaccine acceptance, compared with the global sample we recently reported, intent to vaccinate against influenza increased significantly for this coming season in both the online sample from Kuwait and our recent global sample. Further identifying those responding to their survey may help to elucidate the reasons for those differences.
We reported that 65% of our international sample of parents in pediatric emergency departments plan to vaccinate against COVID-19,1 compared with 44.2% in the online sample from Kuwait. A recent history of vaccination against influenza was similarly associated with increased intended uptake, as well as children who were older, children with no chronic illness, when fathers completed the survey, children up-to-date on their vaccination schedule, and caregivers concerned their child had COVID-19 at the time of survey completion.
In both influenza and future COVID-19 vaccines, and in both the international COVID-19 Parental Attitude Study sample and the one from Kuwait, prior immunization of children against influenza predicted willingness to vaccinate in the future. Although many parents are not planning to vaccinate their children (or themselves), others told us that they are eager to see approved COVID-19 vaccines, and were even willing to accept less rigorous testing and postresearch approval of a new inoculation.2
Vaccine hesitancy, the delay in acceptance and/or refusal of vaccination despite availability, is complex and crosses geographic locations and cultures. Convenience and confidence may contribute to a compromised ability to mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19 and may amplify the deleterious effects on the “global village.”
We agree with AlHajri et al that developing public health strategies to educate all parents with regard to the importance of vaccinating children (against influenza, COVID-19, and all other available vaccines), as well as increased parental knowledge on the safety of vaccines, are 2 critical steps in ensuring herd immunity during this pandemic. A global effort, by governments, healthcare providers, and country-specific public health offices, must take action to identify barriers to vaccinating, in order to establish a foundation on which we improve vaccination rates. This will allow our global community to move forward and enter the post-COVID era.
Data Statement
Data sharing statement available at www.jpeds.com.
Appendix
References
- 1.Goldman R.D., Yan T.D., Seiler M., Parra Cotanda C., Brown J.C., Klein E.J., International COVID-19 Parental Attitude Study (COVIPAS) Group Caregiver willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19: cross sectional survey. Vaccine. 2020;38:7668–7673. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.09.084. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Goldman R.D., Marneni S.R., Seiler M., Brown J.C., Klein E.J., Cotanda C.P., International COVID-19 Parental Attitude Study (COVIPAS) Group Caregivers' willingness to accept expedited vaccine research during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey. Clin Ther. 2020;42:2124–2133. doi: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2020.09.012. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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