Vaccine hesitancy and the willingness to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to children in a rural country on the United States-Mexico border.

Introduction: As of October 26, 2022, only 9% of children in the United States aged 6 months to 4 years have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine despite FDA approval since June 17, 2022. Rates are better yet still low for children aged 5 to 11 years as nearly 30% were fully vaccinated as of August 23, 2022. Vaccine hesitancy among adults is one of the major factors affecting low vaccine uptake rates in children against COVID-19, yet most studies examining vaccine hesitancy have targeted school-age and adolescent children. Methods: With the aim of assessing the willingness to recommend the COVID-19 vaccination to children under 5 years compared to children 5 to 12 years of age, a county-wide survey was conducted between January 11 and March 7, 2022, among adults on the United States-Mexico border. Results: Among the 765 responses, 72.5% were female and 42.3% were Latinx. The most significant factor associated with likelihood to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to children less than 5 years and 5-12 years of age was adult vaccination status. Ordinal logistic regression also indicated that ethnicity, primary language, being a parent, previous COVID-19 infection, and concern about getting COVID-19 in the future were significantly associated with likelihood of COVID-19 vaccine recommendation to children < 5 years and 5-12 years old. Discussion: This study found high consistency among respondents in their willingness to vaccinate children aged < 5 years compared with children aged 5-12 years. Our findings support public health strategies that target adult vaccinations as an avenue to improve childhood vaccinations for young children.

Patient Satisfaction with Telehealth During COVID-19: Experience in a Rural County on the United States-Mexico Border.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze patient satisfaction with telehealth in a rural county on the United States-Mexico border after rapid expansion of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc., a federally qualified health center in southeastern Arizona, conducted phone surveys with 562 patients to measure various outcomes related to patient satisfaction and experience with telehealth between June and August 2020. Data from patient surveys were analyzed within the following age categories: <18 years (37%), 18-34 years (19%), 35-54 years (15%), and 55+ years (29%). Results and Discussion: Patients were overall satisfied with telehealth (87%) and believed the quality of care was just as good as or better than in-person appointments (88%). Many would be willing to try telehealth in the future (54%). Distance/convenience (odds ratio [OR] = 5.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.80-8.97), ease of scheduling (OR = 3.82, 95% CI 1.30-11.21), and protection from potential exposure to coronavirus (OR = 3.01, 95% CI 1.57-5.75) were all strongly predictive of overall satisfaction scores. Adults within the 35-54 (OR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.10-0.81) and 55+ (OR = 0.37, 95% CI 0.14-0.95) age groups were overall less satisfied with telehealth compared with younger adults 18-34 years. Underlying health conditions and primary language were not correlated with satisfaction in using telehealth. Conclusions: Telehealth may be an effective tool for overcoming barriers and providing rural patients with access to health care without compromising patient satisfaction.