Paediatric Emergency Department, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
The Pediatric Research in Emergency Therapeutics (PRETx) Program, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, and BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
Swiss Med Wkly. 2021 May 12;151:w20508. doi: 10.4414/smw.2021.20508. eCollection 2021 May 10.
The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to overlap with the seasonal influenza epidemic, increasing the risk of overextending the health system capacity in Switzerland. Influenza vaccine uptake has remained low in most countries, including Switzerland. The aim of the study was to determine parents’ intentions towards influenza vaccination of their children, as well as themselves, and to assess regional differences.
Parents presenting to four paediatric emergency departments (Zurich, Bern, Bellinzona, Geneva) were asked to complete an online survey during and after the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic (April to June 2020). The anonymised survey included demographic information, vaccination history and intentions to vaccinate against influenza, as well as attitudes towards future vaccination against COVID-19.
The majority of children (92%; 602/654) were up-to-date on their vaccination schedule. In 2019/2020, 7.2% (47/654) were vaccinated against influenza. Children with chronic illnesses were more frequently vaccinated than healthy children (19.2% vs 5.6%; p = 0.002). For the coming winter season, 111 (17%) parents stated they plan to vaccinate their children against influenza, more than double the rate from last year, and 383 (59.2%) parents suggested they will vaccinate against COVID-19 once a vaccine is available. Regional differences between “German” and “Latin” Switzerland were found for parents’ intent to have their children vaccinated against influenza next season (Zurich and Bern 14.3%, Bellinzona and Geneva 27.2%, p <0.001), but not for a hypothetical vaccination against COVID-19 (Zurich and Bern 59.1%, Bellinzona and Geneva 59.7%, p = 0.894).
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a substantial increase of parents’ intention to vaccinate their children against influenza, especially in hard-hit “Latin” Switzerland. The Swiss government and public health organisations can leverage these regional results to promote influenza vaccination among children for the coming seasons.
COVID-19 大流行很可能与季节性流感流行重叠，这增加了瑞士卫生系统能力超负荷的风险。大多数国家（包括瑞士）的流感疫苗接种率仍然很低。本研究的目的是确定父母对为子女和自己接种流感疫苗的意愿，并评估区域差异。
在 COVID-19 大流行的第一次封锁期间（2020 年 4 月至 6 月）和之后，向在苏黎世、伯尔尼、贝林佐纳和日内瓦的四家儿科急诊室就诊的父母提出了完成在线调查的请求。匿名调查包括人口统计学信息、疫苗接种史和接种流感疫苗的意愿，以及对未来接种 COVID-19 疫苗的态度。
大多数儿童（92%；602/654）的疫苗接种计划已完成。在 2019/2020 年，有 7.2%（47/654）的儿童接种了流感疫苗。患有慢性疾病的儿童比健康儿童更频繁地接种疫苗（19.2%比 5.6%；p=0.002）。对于即将到来的冬季，有 111 名（17%）父母表示计划为子女接种流感疫苗，是去年的两倍多，有 383 名（59.2%）父母表示一旦有疫苗可用，他们将接种 COVID-19 疫苗。在瑞士“德语区”和“拉丁语区”的父母中发现了下一个季节为子女接种流感疫苗的意愿存在差异（苏黎世和伯尔尼为 14.3%，贝林佐纳和日内瓦为 27.2%，p＜0.001），但对于假设的 COVID-19 疫苗接种则没有差异（苏黎世和伯尔尼为 59.1%，贝林佐纳和日内瓦为 59.7%，p=0.894）。
COVID-19 大流行导致父母为子女接种流感疫苗的意愿大幅增加，尤其是在受影响严重的“拉丁语区”瑞士。瑞士政府和公共卫生组织可以利用这些区域结果，在即将到来的季节中促进儿童接种流感疫苗。
