@article{6bcb2cccb3a640da99d23e3e33c309e9,
title = "Parents' COVID-19 vaccine intentions for children under 5 years: Brief reflections from a qualitative study",
abstract = "Aim: Australian authorities made COVID-19 vaccines available for children aged under 5 years old with serious comorbidities in August 2022. There is presently no universal programme for young children, but crucial to any rollout's success is whether parents are motivated and able to vaccinate. By examining parents' vaccine intentions, this study aims to inform current and future COVID-19 vaccine roll-outs for children aged under 5 years. Methods: As part of the mixed methods project {\textquoteleft}Coronavax: Preparing Community and Government{\textquoteright} we interviewed 18 Western Australian parents of young children about their intentions in late 2021. Results: Two thirds intended to vaccinate if and when they could, with one third intending to delay for reasons including risk and safety perceptions, fears about side effects and influence from their social networks. However, even those choosing to delay were waiting rather than refusing. Conclusions: To improve uptake, targeted messaging should emphasise that COVID-19 can be a serious disease in young children, with such messaging drawing on the reputability and esteem of scientific and technical authorities. Such messaging should be oriented towards parents of children with serious comorbidities at the present time. It will be important to emphasise that government vaccine recommendations are based on supporting families to protect their children and keep them healthy.",
keywords = "child health, COVID-19, vaccination",
author = "Katie Attwell and Lara McKenzie and Sian Tomkinson and Carlson, {Samantha J.} and Blyth, {Christopher C.}",
note = "Funding Information: Coronavax is funded through a Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Catalyst grant, a Future Health Research & Innovation Fund COVID-19 Focus Grant (FHRIFGCOVID19) and the Western Australian Department of Health (DOH2020-6075). Ethics approval for the Coronavax project was granted by the Child and Adolescent Health Services Human Research Ethics Committee (RGS0000004457). Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Western Australia, as part of the Wiley - The University of Western Australia agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. Funding Information: Coronavax is funded through a Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Catalyst grant, a Future Health Research & Innovation Fund COVID‐19 Focus Grant (FHRIFGCOVID19) and the Western Australian Department of Health (DOH2020‐6075). Ethics approval for the Coronavax project was granted by the Child and Adolescent Health Services Human Research Ethics Committee (RGS0000004457). Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Western Australia, as part of the Wiley ‐ The University of Western Australia agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. Funding Information: Conflict of interest: Christopher C Blyth is co‐chair of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), former co‐chair of the ATAGI COVID‐19 working group and is a recipient of an NHMRC Investigator Award (APP1173163). CCB is supported by an NHMRC EL2 Investigator Grant (2020‐24; 1173163). Katie Attwell is a specialist advisor to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. She is a recipient of a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award funded by the Australian Research Council of the Australian Government (DE19000158). She leads the {\textquoteleft}Coronavax{\textquoteright} project which is funded by the Government of Western Australia. All funds were paid to her institution. Funders are not involved in the conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscripts. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).",
year = "2023",
month = mar,
doi = "10.1111/jpc.16312",
language = "English",
volume = "59",
pages = "453--457",
journal = "Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health",
issn = "1034-4810",
publisher = "John Wiley & Sons",
number = "3",
}