Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The uptake rate of COVID−19 vaccines among children remains low in the U.S. This study aims to 1) identify sociodemographic and behavioral factors influencing parental refusal of vaccinating children, and 2) quantify the relative importance of vaccine characteristics in parental hesitancy of vaccinating children. An online survey was conducted from October to November 2021 among a probability-based, representative sample of 1456 parents with children under age 18. The survey included a discrete choice experiment asking parents to choose between two hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine alternatives with varying levels of characteristics in 10 hypothetical scenarios. Logistic regressions were used to estimate parental refusal (refused to choose any vaccine alternatives in all hypothetical scenarios) and random parameter logit regressions were used to estimate parental hesitancy (choice of vaccine alternatives depended on vaccine characteristics) of vaccinating children.

Kosovo has fully vaccinated 45.5 percent of the population, below what is needed to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, as marginalized ethnic groups, have been identified as high risk for acquiring COVID-19 and for lower acceptance of vaccines. Factors associated with vaccine acceptance are examined in this qualitative study among Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian community members and representatives from civil society, community leaders, health care providers, and government working directly within these communities. Using a social-ecological model, intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and structural factors influencing vaccine acceptance were identified. Intrapersonal-level factors centered on fear of side effects and doubt about vaccine safety and effectiveness, and lack of trust of health care providers; at the interpersonal level, male head of households decided for the entire family whether to receive the vaccine; in the social context at the community level, exposure to prolific misinformation on social media, television news, and paper pamphlets distributed in study communities created fear, doubt, and anxiety about vaccines, and stereotypes about the strong immune systems of ethnic minority groups reinforced beliefs about the communities low susceptibility to COVID-19; and structural-level barriers included the requirement for identification documents, and a buildup of doubt about motivations of the vaccinators created by massive vaccine-promotion efforts and police harassment in implementing curfew, and other protective measures targeting ethnic minority communities. Implications of these findings highlight a need for a segmented approach in designing subgroup-specific and multicomponent interventions to promote vaccine acceptance. Strategies include training local opinion leaders in door-to-door awareness raising, directly addressing misinformation, and distributing vouchers to be exchanged for incentives after vaccination; using social media where respected health care providers and community members post videos promoting vaccination; and removing or providing an alternative to identification requirements.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2), is currently a global pandemic with the highest number of people affected in the modern era; only a small proportion of children have been infected with COVID-19. Most of them were asymptomatic or only had mild symptoms. Both direct and indirect advantages will result from an effective and a safe COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine hesitancy is a potential threat to global public health. Parental attitudes to-wards the vaccines play a key role in the success of the herd immunity for COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the parents’ willingness and attitudes about the COVID- 19 vaccine in Taif city in K.S.A. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of 384 parents. The data collection tool was an online questionnaire that consisted of sociodemographic data of parents and children, and questions for assessment of parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children with the COVID-19 vaccine. All data were entered and analyzed by using SPSS program version 22. The committee is accredited by the National Committee for Bioethics with No. (HAO-02-T-105) and the proposal fulfills the requirements of Taif Uni-versity and accordingly ethical approval was granted.

Stringent public health measures have been shown to influence the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within school environments. We investigated the potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a primary school setting with and without public health measures, using fine-grained physical positioning traces captured before the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 172.63 million position data from 98 students and six teachers from an open-plan primary school were used to predict a potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in primary school settings.

Pregnant women, especially those with comorbidities, compared to those non-pregnant, have higher risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19. However, COVID-19 vaccine uptake is very low among them. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to randomly selected women 18 years of age that were currently pregnant or had just given birth between September 2021 and May 2022 in the geographic area of Naples. Vaccine hesitancy was assessed using the vaccine hesitancy scale (VHS).

Although the European Medicines Agency (EMA) encourage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in pregnant women, the scientific evidence supporting the use of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy is still limited. This study aimed to investigate adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. It retrieved Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) related to the use of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy from the EudraVigilance database for the year 2021. It analyzed AEFI related to the mother and fetus/newborn. The reporting odds ratio (ROR) was computed to compare the reporting probability of spontaneous abortion between COVID-19 vaccines.

The decision about vaccinating children is subject to their parents' decision. To inform strategies that support full vaccination coverage, it is important to understand the parents' vaccination attitude and tendency to act. This study aims to investigate the intention and the factors affecting parents' decision-making about vaccinating their children. A cross-sectional, self-administered online questionnaire was completed by parents of children aged 3–12 yeas in Macao between 7 March and 17 April 2022. The survey tool was informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) which composes of the variable “intention” and three TPB constructs (Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioral Control). Respondents rated their level of agreement on the construct statements using a 5-point Likert scale. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine if the TPB constructs were predictors of parents' intention.

The risk and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy are under investigation. Pooled evidence regarding neonatal and maternal outcomes in association with COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the association between COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and peripartum outcomes. PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched on April 5, 2022. Language restrictions were not applied.

COVID-19 vaccination rates among pregnant people are among the lowest in the United States. To better understand how pregnant people are seeking, assembling, and making meaning of different types of information and support, this essay reports on a study of a social media forum created for pregnant and breastfeeding people to discuss COVID-19 vaccination. Data come from 435 forum posts and 17 interviews with forum participants. Findings document four rhetorical strategies that participants developed to move themselves from vaccine uncertainty to vaccine confidence: (1) seeking embodied evidence to personalize vaccine decision making, (2) localizing scientific evidence to their lived contexts, (3) optimizing vaccination, and (4) attending to the affective and relational dimensions of vaccination. These strategies show how participants calibrated two powerful and conflicting rhetorics—one rhetoric that they should get vaccinated as soon as possible, and another that they should make personalized health decisions for their families.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents poses a challenge to the global effort to control the pandemic. This multi-country survey aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa between July and December 2021. The survey was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviewing among adolescents in five sub-Saharan African countries, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. A rural area and an urban area were included in each country (except Ghana, which only had a rural area), with approximately 300 adolescents in each area and 2662 in total. Sociodemographic characteristics and perceptions and attitudes on COVID-19 vaccines were measured. Vaccine hesitancy was defined as definitely not getting vaccinated or being undecided on whether to get vaccinated if a COVID-19 vaccine were available. Log-binomial models were used to calculate the adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between potential determinants and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The percentage of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was 14% in rural Kersa, 23% in rural Ibadan, 31% in rural Nouna, 32% in urban Ouagadougou, 37% in urban Addis Ababa, 48% in rural Kintampo, 65% in urban Lagos, 76% in urban Dar es Salaam, and 88% in rural Dodoma. Perceived low necessity, concerns about vaccine safety, and concerns about vaccine effectiveness were the leading reasons for hesitancy.