Children and COVID-19 Research Library

A worldwide COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign targeting adults was launched in late December 2020. Subsequently, the Comirnaty (BNT162b2) vaccine was recommended for children aged 12–15 years in May 2021. In Norway, only one dose of the Comirnaty vaccine was recommended to children aged 12–15 years. Vaccination was not recommended for children who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2. In line with findings in older age groups, the most prevalent adverse events after vaccination that have been reported in 12- to 15-year-old adolescents are injection site pain (in 79 to 86 % of participants), fatigue (in 60 to 66 %), and headache (in 55 to 65 %). Adolescents aged 12–17 years have been found to have a moderately higher risk of adverse reactions than adults. For new vaccines, clinical trials typically collect data on commonly recognized adverse events and safety profiles. However, questions about the menstrual cycle have not been included in clinical studies. A significant number of reports on menstrual disturbances after COVID-19 vaccination have been registered in spontaneous adverse events surveillance systems in several countries (USA, UK, Norway, the Netherlands).

COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for pregnant and lactating individuals, and there is substantial evidence for their safety and effectiveness. As the pandemic continues, information on worries and beliefs surrounding perinatal COVID-19 vaccination remains important to inform efforts aimed at improving vaccine uptake. Our objectives were to assess factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination among perinatal individuals; and to explore motivational factors associated with willingness to be vaccinated among unvaccinated perinatal individuals. This was a cross-sectional web-based survey of preconception, pregnant, and lactating individuals in Canada. The outcomes of interest were vaccination with at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to be vaccinated among unvaccinated individuals. Sample characteristics were summarized using frequencies and percentages. The association between eight prespecified risk factors and two outcomes (vaccination status and willingness to be vaccinated) was assessed by logistic regression. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for the total sample, and across perinatal sub-groups.

It is important to encourage parental acceptance of children’s vaccination against COVID-19 to ensure population immunity and mitigate morbidity and mortality. This study drew upon protection motivation theory (PMT) to explore the factors of parental hesitancy about vaccinating their children. A national online survey was performed in China. A total of 2054 Chinese parents of children aged 6–12 years were included in this study. They reported on measures that assessed hesitancy about children’s vaccination against COVID-19, PMT constructs (susceptibility, severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and response costs) and sociodemographic characteristics. Chinese parents reported a hesitancy rate of 29.4% for children’s vaccination. Parents with higher level education were more likely to hesitate to vaccinate their children against COVID-19.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 4 (COVID-19) vaccine on epileptic seizures, as well as its adverse effects, in children with epilepsy (< 18 years). This anonymous questionnaire study involved a multicenter prospective survey of outpatients and inpatients with epilepsy (＜18 years) registered in epilepsy clinics in 8 hospitals in six cities of Shandong Province.

The acceptance of vaccines among pregnant and breastfeeding women is vital to alleviate the risk of contracting and transmitting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, we aimed to assess the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant and breastfeeding/lactating women and the factors associated with the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among pregnant and breastfeeding women living in Saudi Arabia. A 23-item, self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant or lactating women.

Published data on COVID-19 mRNA vaccine–associated myopericarditis in adolescents and young adults have been derived from small case series, national population-based studies, or passive reporting systems. Pooled evidence from a larger, international cohort is scarce. This study aims to investigate the clinical features and early outcomes associated with myopericarditis after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in a heterogeneous population of adolescents and young adults. PubMed and EMBASE were searched through August 2022. Language restrictions were not applied.

Pregnant and lactating mothers have historically been excluded from clinical trials. To understand the shift from excluding to including this population in COVID-19 vaccine trials, this study conducted a review of guidance issued by countries in southern Africa over the last three years. It conducted a review of documents and official statements recorded on Ministries of Health websites, and social media platforms, the World Health Organisation website, the COVID-19 Maternal Immunisation tracker and the African Union official webpage. Search terms included COVID-19 vaccination policies, guidelines for pregnant and lactating women, COVID-19 vaccination trials and pregnant women. The research retrieved and reviewed policies, guidelines, and official statements from 12 countries.

Vaccination has proved effective in mitigating Covid-19 transmission and severe infection. Sri Lanka has launched a programme to vaccinate children aged 12-18 years with chronic illnesses. However, vaccination of healthy children is under discussion. Acceptability of the vaccine would determine the success of the programme. This study aims to assess the acceptability of Covid-19 vaccine among parents of children without chronic illness at Teaching Hospital Karapitiya (THK) and selected Private Hospitals in the Galle District. A cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenient sample of 472 parents attending paediatric care at THK and selected private hospitals in the Galle District in 2021.

Despite COVID-19 vaccines being available to pregnant women in India since summer 2021, little is known about vaccine uptake among this high need population. We conducted mixed methods research with pregnant and recently delivered rural women in northern India, consisting of 300 phone surveys and 15 in-depth interviews, in November 2021. Only about a third of respondents were vaccinated, however, about half of unvaccinated respondents reported that they would get vaccinated now if they could. Fears of harm to the unborn baby or young infant were common (22% of unvaccinated women). However, among unvaccinated women who wanted to get vaccinated, the most common barrier reported was that their health care provider refused to provide them the vaccine. Gender barriers and social norms also played a role, with family members restricting women’s access. Trust in the health system was high, however, women were most often getting information about COVID-19 vaccines from sources that they did not trust, and they knew they were getting potentially poor-quality information. Qualitative data shed light on the barriers women faced from their family and health care providers but described how as more people got the vaccine that norms were changing.

Multiple vaccines have been tested in clinical trials for their efcacy and safety. In Saudi Arabia, Pfzer– BioNTech or Moderna were approved for children, however, previous studies to report their safety profle are limited. This research aims to understand the side efect of children’s vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Saudi Arabia. This was an observational retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey in Saudi Arabia from March to May 2022. The inclusion criteria were parents aged 18 years and above who live in Saudi Arabia and have vaccinated their children. The self-reported questionnaire was adopted from published studies to investigate the study objectives Descriptive statistics were used to describe patients’ demographic characteristics, continuous data were reported as mean±S.D., categorical data were reported as percentages (frequencies), and logistic regression was used to identify predictors of persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms.

Children with chronic medical conditions are more susceptible to developing a serious negative outcome from corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than healthy children. This study investigated the extent of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) and its predictors in parents of children with chronic liver disease (CLD) in Egypt. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Liver Institute from September to October 2022, using a random sampling method. Data were collected using the validated Arabic version of parents’ attitudes about childhood vaccines (PACV) scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and discriminant analysis were used to identify direct and indirect determinants of VH.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial adverse impact on the health and well-being of populations in the United States (US) and globally. Although COVID-19 vaccine disparities among US adults aged ≥18 years are well documented, COVID-19 vaccination inequalities among US children are not well studied. Using the recent nationally representative data, this study examines disparities in COVID-19 vaccination among US children aged 5-17 years by a wide range of social determinants and parental characteristics. Using the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey from December 1, 2021 to April 11, 2022 (N=86,335), disparities in child vaccination rates by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health insurance, parental vaccination status, parental COVID-19 diagnosis, and metropolitan area were modeled by multivariate logistic regression.