Parents' perceptions on COVID-19 vaccination as the new routine for their children ≤ 11 years old

Canadian children 5-11 years old became eligible for COVID-19 vaccination on November 19, 2021, with eligibility for younger children expected later. We aimed to descriptively assess parents' COVID-19 vaccine in-tentions and acceptability of future doses, including co-administration and annual vaccination for their children. We conducted a cross-sectional Canadian online survey of parents from October 14-November 12, 2021, just prior to authorization of the pediatric formulation of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years. We assessed parents' intention to vaccinate their children aged 5-11 years, 2-4 years, and 6-23 months; reasons for their intention; and preferences for delivery and access to vaccines. Of 1129 parents, 56% intended to vaccinate their child aged 5-11 years against COVID-19; intentions were lower for children aged 6-23 months (41.9%) and 2-4 years (45.4%). Most parents who intended to vaccinate supported co-administration with routine (61.1%) or influenza (55.4%) vaccines, administration at school (63.6%), receipt of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine (57.8%), and annual vaccination (56.4%) for their child. Despite parents' high COVID-19 vaccination uptake for themselves (88.8%), intentions for children aged 5-11 years was low. Currently, 56.9% of Canadian children aged 5-11 years have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and only 37.1% are fully vaccinated. Given that intentions for children <5 years was lower than those 5-11 years, we can also expect low uptake in this group. Parents' preferences regarding delivery and access to COVID-19 vaccination should be considered by public health officials when planning vaccination strategies for children.

Automated summary

The study found that the majority of Canadian parents intend to vaccinate their children aged 5-11 against COVID-19, but intentions are lower for younger children aged 6-23 months and 2-4 years. Most parents who plan to vaccinate support co-administration with routine or influenza vaccines, vaccination at school, booster doses, and annual vaccination for their child.