Parental Hesitancy About Routine Childhood and Influenza Vaccinations: A National Survey.

Creator(s)

Allison Kempe
Alison W. Saville
Christina Albertin
Gregory Zimet
Abigail Breck
Laura Helmkamp
Sitaram Vangala
L Miriam Dickinson
Cindy Rand
Sharon Humiston, Children’s Mercy, Kansas CityFollow
Peter G. Szilagyi

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2020

Identifier

DOI: 10.1542/peds.2019-3852; PMCID: PMC7329256

Abstract

Background and objectives: The World Health Organization has designated vaccine hesitancy as 1 of the 10 leading threats to global health, yet there is limited current national data on prevalence of hesitancy among US parents. Among a nationally representative sample of US parents, we aimed to (1) assess and compare prevalence of hesitancy and factors driving hesitancy for routine childhood and influenza vaccination and (2) examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and hesitancy for routine childhood or influenza vaccination.

Methods: In February 2019, we surveyed families with children using the largest online panel generating representative US samples. After weighting, we assessed hesitancy using a modified 5-point Vaccine Hesitancy Scale and labeled parents as hesitant if they scored >3.

Results: A total of 2176 of 4445 parents sampled completed the survey (response rate 49%). Hesitancy prevalence was 6.1% for routine childhood and 25.8% for influenza vaccines; 12% strongly and 27% somewhat agreed they had concerns about serious side effects of both routine childhood and influenza vaccines. A total of 70% strongly agreed that routine childhood vaccines are effective versus 26% for influenza vaccine (P< .001). In multivariable models, an educational level lower than a bachelor's degree and household income

Conclusions: Almost 1 in 15 US parents are hesitant about routine childhood vaccines, whereas >1 in 4 are hesitant about influenza vaccine. Furthermore, 1 in 8 parents are concerned about vaccine safety for both routine childhood and influenza vaccines, and only 1 in 4 believe influenza vaccine is effective. Vaccine hesitancy, particularly for influenza vaccine, is prevalent in the United States.

Journal Title

Pediatrics

Volume

146

Issue

1

Comments

Grant support

• R01 AI114903/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States

Recommended Citation

Kempe A, Saville AW, Albertin C, et al. Parental Hesitancy About Routine Childhood and Influenza Vaccinations: A National Survey. Pediatrics. 2020;146(1):e20193852. doi:10.1542/peds.2019-3852