Shmueli Liora
Department of Management, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel.
Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Sep 24;11(10):1519. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11101519.
This study assessed whether the COVID-19 pandemic has altered parents' attitudes toward vaccinating their children against the flu and barriers to school-based vaccination programs.
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 975 parents of children aged 6 months to 11 years between 21-31 December 2022. A multivariate regression was performed to determine predictors of parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against the flu in the winter of 2023.
45% of parents did not plan to vaccinate their children against the flu, citing concerns about side effects and vaccine effectiveness; 39% already vaccinated their children, and 41% of them reported an increased intention to vaccinate following the pandemic. Only 37% of parents chose school-based vaccination programs, mainly due to a preference for HMO clinics and a lack of available nurses at school. The Health Belief Model variables, namely, perceived susceptibility, severity, and benefits, displayed the largest effect sizes.
Healthcare providers and public health officials should address parents' concerns about flu vaccine safety and efficacy to improve vaccination rates among children. Notably, the pandemic has increased vaccine receptivity among some parents. Enhancing accessibility to nursing staff in student health facilities could help boost vaccine uptake.
本研究评估了新冠疫情是否改变了家长对孩子接种流感疫苗的态度以及学校疫苗接种计划的障碍。
于2022年12月21日至31日对975名6个月至11岁孩子的家长进行了横断面在线调查。进行多变量回归以确定2023年冬季家长愿意为孩子接种流感疫苗的预测因素。
45%的家长不打算为孩子接种流感疫苗，理由是担心副作用和疫苗有效性；39%的家长已为孩子接种，其中41%的家长表示疫情后接种意愿增强。只有37%的家长选择学校疫苗接种计划，主要原因是偏爱健康维护组织（HMO）诊所且学校缺乏可用护士。健康信念模型变量，即感知易感性、严重性和益处，显示出最大的效应量。
医疗服务提供者和公共卫生官员应解决家长对流感疫苗安全性和有效性的担忧，以提高儿童的疫苗接种率。值得注意的是，疫情增加了一些家长对疫苗的接受度。提高学生健康设施中护理人员的可及性有助于提高疫苗接种率。
