ABSTRACT
Introduction: Vaccine hesitancy may increase infectious disease burden and impede disease control efforts, while few studies have measured such a phenomenon with a standardized tool in China. This study aimed to test the validation of the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (VHS) developed by the WHO SAGE Working Group among caregivers and examine demographic characteristics associated with caregiver hesitancy in six provinces of China. Methods: Using a multistage sampling design, this study was conducted in 36 immunization clinics in six provinces from December 2019 to August 2020. Caregivers of children aged 0-3 years were included. The VHS was used to assess vaccine hesitancy. The construct validity and internal consistency of the scale were assessed. Associations between caregivers' characteristics and vaccine hesitancy were examined by simple and multiple linear regression models. Results: Of the 3,359 participants included, a two-factor structure within the scale was identified, consisting of "lack of confidence" (1.89 ± 0.53) and "risks" (3.20 ± 0.75). Caregivers engaged in medical work expressed more confidence and were less concerned about risks compared to those of non-medical staff (p < 0.05). Participants with higher income levels were more confident (p < 0.05), while those surveyed after the COVID-19 pandemic, who were mothers, who had an older child, or who were raising a second or above birth child, had less concern about risks (p < 0.05). Discussion: We found that the VHS had acceptable reliability and construct validity and caregivers' hesitancy was driven more by concerns about risks than by the lack of confidence. Countering these concerns will be particularly important among non-medical staff, lower income, child's fathers, having a younger child, or raising first-birth child groups.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Caregivers , Female , Humans , Child , Child, Preschool , Adolescent , Vaccination Hesitancy , Pandemics , Reproducibility of Results , China , World Health OrganizationABSTRACT
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 poses a significant threat to global public health. Early detection with reliable, fast, and simple assays is crucial to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay is currently the gold standard for SARS-CoV-2 detection; however, the reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification method (RT-LAMP) assay may allow for faster, simpler and cheaper screening of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, the triple-target RT-LAMP assay was first established to simultaneously detect three different target regions (ORF1ab, N and E genes) of SARS-CoV-2. The results revealed that the developed triplex RT-LAMP assay was able to detect down to 11 copies of SARS-CoV-2 RNA per 25 µL reaction, with greater sensitivity than singleplex or duplex RT-LAMP assays. Moreover, two different indicators, hydroxy naphthol blue (HNB) and cresol red, were studied in the colorimetric RT-LAMP assay; our results suggest that both indicators are suitable for RT-LAMP reactions with an obvious color change. In conclusion, our developed triplex colorimetric RT-LAMP assay may be useful for the screening of COVID-19 cases in limited-resource areas.