Sociodemographic Trends and Correlation between Parental Hesitancy towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccines and Routine Childhood Immunizations in the United States: 2021-2022 National Immunization Survey-Child COVID Module

Olufunto A Olusanya; Nina B Masters; Fan Zhang; David E Sugerman; Rosalind J Carter; Debora Weiss; James A Singleton

doi:10.3390/vaccines12050495

Sociodemographic Trends and Correlation between Parental Hesitancy towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccines and Routine Childhood Immunizations in the United States: 2021-2022 National Immunization Survey-Child COVID Module

Vaccines (Basel). 2024 May 3;12(5):495. doi: 10.3390/vaccines12050495.

Authors

Olufunto A Olusanya^{1

2}, Nina B Masters^{1

3}, Fan Zhang⁴, David E Sugerman¹, Rosalind J Carter⁵, Debora Weiss⁶, James A Singleton⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
² Center for Biomedical Informatics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38103, USA.
³ Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
⁴ Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
⁵ Office of the Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
⁶ Division of Global HIV and TB, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.

Abstract

Multiple factors may influence parental vaccine hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and routine childhood immunizations (RCIs). Using the United States National Immunization Survey-Child COVID Module data collected from parents/guardians of children aged 5-11 years, this cross-sectional study (1) identified the trends and prevalence estimates of parental hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and RCIs, (2) examined the relationship between hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and RCIs, and (3) assessed trends in parental hesitancy towards RCIs by sociodemographic characteristics and behavioral and social drivers of COVID-19 vaccination. From November 2021 to July 2022, 54,329 parents or guardians were interviewed. During this 9-month period, the proportion of parents hesitant about pediatric COVID-19 vaccines increased by 15.8 percentage points (24.8% to 40.6%). Additionally, the proportion of parents who reported RCIs hesitancy increased by 4.7 percentage points from November 2021 to May 2022 but returned to baseline by July 2022. Over nine months, parents' concerns about pediatric COVID-19 infections declined; however, parents were increasingly worried about pediatric COVID-19 vaccine safety and overall importance. Furthermore, pediatric COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was more prevalent among parents of children who were White (43.2%) versus Black (29.3%) or Hispanic (26.9%) and those residing in rural (51.3%) compared to urban (28.9%) areas. In contrast, RCIs hesitancy was higher among parents of children who were Black (32.0%) versus Hispanic (24.5%) or White (23.6%). Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was 2-6 times as prevalent among parents who were RCIs hesitant compared to those who were RCIs non-hesitant. This positive correlation between parental hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and RCIs was observed for all demographic and psychosocial factors for unadjusted and adjusted prevalence ratios. Parent-provider interactions should increase vaccine confidence, shape social norms, and facilitate behavior change to promote pediatric vaccination rates.

Keywords: COVID-19; National Immunization Survey—Child COVID Module; immunizations; pandemic; pediatric COVID-19 vaccines; vaccine confidence; vaccine hesitancy.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.