Association between Adult Vaccine Hesitancy and Parental Acceptance of Childhood COVID-19 Vaccines: A Web-Based Survey in a Northwestern Region in China

China has initiated the COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 15-17 years since late July 2020. This study aimed to determine the association between adult vaccine hesitancy and parental acceptance of childhood COVID-19 vaccines in a multi-ethnicity area of northwestern China. A web-based investigation was performed with a convenience sampling strategy to recruit the parents aged 20-49 years. In a total of 13,451 valid respondents, 66.1% had received the COVID-19 vaccination, 26.6% were intent to receive, while 7.3% were not intent, with an increasing vaccine hesitancy (p < 0.001). Moreover, vaccination uptake of four common vaccines in their children remained low (29.0% for influenza vaccine, 17.9% for pneumonia vaccine, 10.9% for rotavirus vaccine, 8.0% for Enterovirus-71 vaccine), while overall parental acceptance of childhood COVID-19 vaccines was 50.0% (32.7% for those aged 0-5, 46.6% for 6-10, 73.3% for 11-18; p < 0.001). Vaccination uptake of these four vaccines and parental acceptance of childhood COVID-19 vaccine were negatively associated with adult vaccine hesitancy. In addition, respondents mostly preferred childhood COVID-19 vaccines with weak mild common adverse events (beta = 1.993) and no severe adverse events (beta = 1.731), demonstrating a positive association with adult vaccine hesitancy. Thus, it warrants specific countermeasures to reduce adult vaccine hesitancy and improve strategies for childhood vaccination.

Automated summary

The study found a negative correlation between adult vaccine hesitancy and parental acceptance of childhood COVID-19 vaccines, impacting the vaccination rates of other common vaccines for children. Respondents preferred vaccines with lower risks, which were also associated with adult vaccine hesitancy.