Abstract
COVID-19 has caused over a million deaths in the United States. Preventative measures such as masks, social distancing, and vaccination have been implemented to fight against the disease. Unfortunately, a large subset of Americans opposed these efforts.
SC DHEC reports that as of January 2023, only 53.9 % of eligible South Carolinians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Previous studies have shown vaccine hesitancy is influenced largely by personal concerns about vaccine development, peer vaccination status, and general skepticism of immunization.
Hesitancy towards pediatric vaccination is particularly concerning because unvaccinated children can act as vessels to exponentially accelerate COVID-19 transmission. Additionally, there is a possibility that dormant diseases can resurface if vaccination rates decrease for routine childhood vaccinations. In this study, 1765 adult South Carolinians were surveyed to determine which factors affect pediatric vaccination decisions and how COVID-19 has influenced vaccination attitudes among parents.
Our results revealed pediatric vaccination intentions have significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents expressed more hesitation towards the COVID-19 vaccine than general childhood vaccines. COVID-19 vaccination intentions were influenced by political affiliation, education level, and gender.
More knowledge about COVID-19, vaccines, and COVID-19 vaccines also led to an increase in vaccine acceptance. These findings can be used to better tailor public health and educational campaigns to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
UP-03 Identifying the determinants of pediatric vaccine uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 has caused over a million deaths in the United States. Preventative measures such as masks, social distancing, and vaccination have been implemented to fight against the disease. Unfortunately, a large subset of Americans opposed these efforts.
SC DHEC reports that as of January 2023, only 53.9 % of eligible South Carolinians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Previous studies have shown vaccine hesitancy is influenced largely by personal concerns about vaccine development, peer vaccination status, and general skepticism of immunization.
Hesitancy towards pediatric vaccination is particularly concerning because unvaccinated children can act as vessels to exponentially accelerate COVID-19 transmission. Additionally, there is a possibility that dormant diseases can resurface if vaccination rates decrease for routine childhood vaccinations. In this study, 1765 adult South Carolinians were surveyed to determine which factors affect pediatric vaccination decisions and how COVID-19 has influenced vaccination attitudes among parents.
Our results revealed pediatric vaccination intentions have significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents expressed more hesitation towards the COVID-19 vaccine than general childhood vaccines. COVID-19 vaccination intentions were influenced by political affiliation, education level, and gender.
More knowledge about COVID-19, vaccines, and COVID-19 vaccines also led to an increase in vaccine acceptance. These findings can be used to better tailor public health and educational campaigns to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.