Aljerian Khaldoon, AlMadi Hamad, AlMadi Nawaf H, AlKahtani Abdulaziz, AlGhamdi Hussam, Al-Ghamdi Ahmed, Al-Assaf Abdulaziz, AlSubaie Abdulaziz, Temsah Mohamad-Hani
Pathology, King Saud University College of Medicine, Riyadh, SAU.
Emergency Medicine, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, SAU.
Cureus. 2024 Aug 4;16(8):e66129. doi: 10.7759/cureus.66129. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Background Despite the success of childhood vaccination in reducing vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), vaccine hesitancy remains a significant challenge in several countries, such as Saudi Arabia, both during and beyond the COVID-19 era. Furthermore, the pandemic may have impacted vaccine hesitancy trends, potentially affecting parents' intentions to adhere to scheduled childhood vaccination programs. Aim This article aims to assess the extent of parents' hesitancy toward childhood vaccination, determine if it increased or decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, highlight the factors and determinants that influenced this hesitancy, whether positively or negatively, during the COVID-19 era, and estimate the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in relation to the acceptance of scheduled childhood vaccination. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia through a snowball sampling technique. Data were collected between September 2022 and October 2022 using an online survey using Google Forms. The inclusion criteria were parents or guardians in Saudi Arabia with a child up to 18 years of age. Responses were analyzed using SPSS V25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, US), with chi-square tests and logistic regression performed to compare hesitancy and vaccination status. Results Among the 1,209 parents and care providers who participated, the prevalence of parents' vaccine hesitancy was 374 (30.9%). The educational level of the parents was not significantly associated with hesitancy status (p 0.490). The most refused vaccine was Mpox (345; 28.5%), whereas the one that caused the most hesitancy was the COVID-19 vaccine (352; 29.1%). Regarding the parents' concerns, the main reason for their hesitancy was the influence of their negative perceptions from social media content, including false or misleading information and negative allegations about vaccines, reported by 449 (18.98%) of the participants. Logistic regression analysis indicated that negative social media perceptions significantly increased the likelihood of vaccine hesitancy (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.78-2.60, p < 0.001). Conclusion Our study highlights the prevalence of parental vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 era; the most significant hesitancy was observed toward the COVID-19 vaccine, and the mpox vaccine was the most rejected. Negative social media was the main reason for parental hesitancy; public health efforts should focus on providing accurate and easily accessible information through educational campaigns on social media and other platforms.
背景 尽管儿童疫苗接种在减少疫苗可预防疾病（VPDs）方面取得了成功，但在沙特阿拉伯等几个国家，无论是在新冠疫情期间还是之后，疫苗犹豫仍然是一个重大挑战。此外，疫情可能影响了疫苗犹豫趋势，潜在地影响了父母坚持儿童定期疫苗接种计划的意愿。目的 本文旨在评估父母对儿童疫苗接种的犹豫程度，确定其是否因新冠疫情而增加或减少，突出在新冠疫情期间正面或负面影响这种犹豫的因素和决定因素，并估计新冠疫苗接种相对于儿童定期疫苗接种的接受情况。方法 在沙特阿拉伯通过滚雪球抽样技术进行了一项横断面研究。2022年9月至2022年10月期间，使用谷歌表单通过在线调查收集数据。纳入标准是沙特阿拉伯有18岁及以下儿童的父母或监护人。使用SPSS V25（美国纽约州阿蒙克市IBM公司）对回答进行分析，进行卡方检验和逻辑回归以比较犹豫情况和疫苗接种状况。结果 在参与的1209名父母和护理人员中，父母疫苗犹豫的患病率为374人（30.9%）。父母的教育水平与犹豫状况无显著关联（p = 0.490）。最常被拒绝的疫苗是猴痘疫苗（345人；28.5%），而引起最多犹豫的是新冠疫苗（352人；29.1%）。关于父母的担忧，他们犹豫的主要原因是社交媒体内容中的负面看法的影响，包括关于疫苗的虚假或误导性信息以及负面指控，449名（18.98%）参与者报告了这一点。逻辑回归分析表明，负面的社交媒体看法显著增加了疫苗犹豫的可能性（OR = 2.15，95% CI = 1.78 - 2.60，p < 0.001）。结论 我们的研究突出了新冠疫情期间父母疫苗犹豫的患病率；对新冠疫苗观察到的犹豫最为显著，猴痘疫苗是最常被拒绝的。负面的社交媒体是父母犹豫的主要原因；公共卫生努力应侧重于通过社交媒体和其他平台的教育活动提供准确且易于获取的信息。
