ABSTRACT
We explored parent's intention to vaccinate their children aged 5–11 against corona and factors influencing this. A survey, including open and closed questions, was distributed among parents (N = 214, 57,8% female) at booster vaccination locations in Rotterdam. The survey was subdivided in three categories: background variables of the participant (parent), background variables of his/her children, determinants of vaccination-intentions and information needs. Results show that 43% of the parents intended to vaccinate their children. Parents attitude towards vaccination was ambivalent, they rated the likelihood for children to get infected with corona relatively high and the severity of corona for children relatively low. The response to potential harmful effects of the vaccine were ambivalent as well. Attitude was the strongest correlate of vaccination-intention and mediated the effects of likelihood, severity and harmfulness. Most parents would take the decision together with the partner, but also with the child. The open questions showed that the most common reason to vaccinate the child was to protect the child or others. Reasons mentioned for not vaccinating the child were mostly worries regarding side-effects and doubts about the added value of vaccinating children. In the discussion, communication and intervention options to enhance vaccination intentions are described. Samenvatting: We hebben onderzocht wat de bereidheid van ouders is om hun kinderen van 5 tot 11 jaar te laten vaccineren tegen corona en factoren die hieraan bijdragen. Op boostervaccinatielocaties in Rotterdam is aan ouders (N = 214, 57,8 % vrouw) een vragenlijst uitgedeeld met open en gesloten vragen. De vragenlijst was onderverdeeld in drie categorieën: achtergrondvariabelen van de deelnemer (ouder), achtergrondvariabelen van zijn/haar kinderen, en determinanten van vaccinatiebereidheid en informatiebehoeften. De resultaten laten zien dat 43,0 % van de ouders bereid was hun kinderen te vaccineren. Ouders hadden een ambivalente attitude ten aanzien van vaccineren, en schatten de kans op corona bij kinderen relatief hoog en de ernst van corona bij kinderen relatief laag in. De visie op schadelijkheid van het vaccin was ambivalent. Attitude was de sterkste voorspeller van vaccinatie-intentie en medieerde de effecten van kans, ernst en schadelijkheid. Veel ouders zouden de beslissing met de partner, maar ook met het kind nemen. In de open vragen gaven ze als redenen om het kind wel te vaccineren vooral dat ze het kind of anderen wilden beschermen. Redenen om het kind niet te vaccineren waren vooral zorgen over bijwerkingen en twijfel over de meerwaarde van het vaccineren van kinderen. De beschouwing beschrijft communicatie- en interventiemogelijkheden om vaccinatiebereidheid te bevorderen.
ABSTRACT
Background: High incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and low testing uptake were reported in low-income neighbourhoods in Rotterdam. We aimed to improve willingness and access to testing by introducing community-based test facilities, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a rapid antigen detection test (RDT). Methods: Two to eleven test facilities operated consecutively in three low-income neighbourhoods in Rotterdam, offering the options of walk-in or appointments. Background characteristics were collected at intake and one nasopharyngeal swab was taken and processed using both RDT and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Visitors were asked to join a survey for evaluation purposes. Results: In total, 19 773 visitors were tested - 9662 (48.9%) without an appointment. Walk-in visitors were older, lived more often in the proximity of the test facilities, and reported coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related symptoms less often than by-appointment visitors. For 67.7% of the visitors, this was the first time they got tested. A total of 1211 (6.1%) tested SARS-CoV-2-positive with RT-PCR, of whom 309 (25.5%) were asymptomatic. Test uptake increased among residents of the pilot neighbourhoods, especially in the older age groups, compared to people living in comparable neighbourhoods without community-based testing facilities. RDT detected asymptomatic individuals with 71.8% sensitivity, which was acceptable in this high prevalence setting. Visitors reported positive attitudes towards the test facilities and welcomed the easy access. Conclusions: Offering community-based SARS-CoV-2 testing seems a promising approach for increasing testing uptake among specific populations in low-income neighbourhoods.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Aged , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19 Testing , Humans , Pilot ProjectsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: An outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a nursing home in the Netherlands, following an on-site church service held on 8 March 2020, triggered an investigation to unravel sources and chain(s) of transmission. METHODS: Epidemiological data were collected from registries and through a questionnaire among church attendees. Symptomatic residents and healthcare workers (HCWs) were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS). Sequences from a selection of people from the same area were included as community reference. RESULTS: After the church service, 30 of 39 attendees (77%) developed symptoms; 14 (11 residents and 3 nonresidents) were tested and were positive for COVID-19. In the following 5 weeks, 62 of 300 residents (21%) and 30 of 640 HCWs (5%) tested positive for COVID-19; 21 of 62 residents (34%) died. The outbreak was controlled through a cascade of measures. WGS of samples from residents and HCWs identified a diversity of sequence types, grouped into 8 clusters. Seven resident church attendees all were infected with distinct viruses, 4 of which belonged to 2 larger clusters in the nursing home. CONCLUSIONS: Although initial investigation suggested the church service as the source of the outbreak, detailed analysis showed a more complex picture, most consistent with widespread regional circulation of the virus in the weeks before the outbreak, and multiple introductions into the nursing home before the visitor ban. The findings underscore the importance of careful outbreak investigations to understand SARS-CoV-2 transmission to develop evidence-based mitigation measures.