Department of Epidemiology, George Washington University School of Public Health, Washington, DC, 20037, USA; Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Department of Public Health & Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Public Health. 2024 Apr;229:126-134. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.01.029. Epub 2024 Mar 1.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the setting of education for many children in the U.S. Understanding COVID-19 vaccination coverage by educational setting is important for developing targeted messages, increasing parents' confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, and protecting all children from severe effects of COVID-19 infection.
STUDY DESIGN/METHODS: Using data from the Household Pulse Survey (n = 25,173) collected from December 9-19, 2022, January 4-16, 2023, and February 1-13, 2023, this study assessed factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination and reasons for non-vaccination among school-aged children 5-11 and adolescents 12-17 by educational setting.
Among children 5-11 years, COVID-19 vaccination coverage was higher among those who received in-person instruction (53.7%) compared to those who were homeschooled (32.5%). Furthermore, among adolescents 12-17 years, COVID-19 vaccination coverage was higher among those who received in-person instruction (73.5%) or virtual/online instruction (70.1%) compared to those who were homeschooled (51.0%). Children and adolescents were more likely to be vaccinated if the parental respondent had been vaccinated compared to those who had not. Among children and adolescents who were homeschooled, main reasons for non-vaccination were concern about side effects (45.4-51.6%), lack of trust in COVID-19 vaccines (45.0-50.9%), and lack of trust in the government (32.7-39.2%).
Children and adolescents who were home-schooled during the pandemic had lower vaccination coverage than those who attended school in person, and adolescents who were home-schooled had lower vaccination coverage than those who received virtual instruction. Based on the reasons for non-vaccination identified in this study, increasing parental confidence in vaccines, and reducing barriers to access are important for supporting COVID-19 vaccination for school-age children.
新冠疫情改变了许多美国儿童的教育环境。了解按教育环境划分的新冠疫苗接种率对于制定有针对性的信息、增强家长对新冠疫苗的信心以及保护所有儿童免受新冠感染的严重影响非常重要。
研究设计/方法：本研究使用了 2022 年 12 月 9 日至 19 日、2023 年 1 月 4 日至 16 日和 2023 年 2 月 1 日至 13 日期间从家庭脉搏调查（n=25173）中收集的数据，评估了按教育环境划分的 5-11 岁儿童和 12-17 岁青少年新冠疫苗接种的相关因素和未接种疫苗的原因。
在 5-11 岁儿童中，与在家接受教育的儿童（32.5%）相比，接受面授教育的儿童（53.7%）新冠疫苗接种率更高。此外，在 12-17 岁青少年中，与在家接受教育的青少年（51.0%）相比，接受面授教育（73.5%）或虚拟/在线教育（70.1%）的青少年新冠疫苗接种率更高。与未接种疫苗的父母相比，父母已接种疫苗的儿童和青少年更有可能接种疫苗。对于在家接受教育的儿童和青少年来说，不接种疫苗的主要原因是担心副作用（45.4-51.6%）、对新冠疫苗缺乏信任（45.0-50.9%）和对政府缺乏信任（32.7-39.2%）。
在疫情期间接受在家教育的儿童和青少年的疫苗接种率低于亲自上学的儿童，而接受在家教育的青少年的疫苗接种率低于接受虚拟教育的青少年。根据本研究确定的未接种疫苗的原因，增强父母对疫苗的信心和减少接种疫苗的障碍对于支持学龄儿童的新冠疫苗接种非常重要。
