Maternal Attitudes and Intentions About the COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Aged 5-11 Years.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The current study assessed maternal attitudes and intention about the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 years since the onset of the Delta variant and examined if the Delta variant changed maternal perceptions about COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 precautions for children. METHOD: Participants were 821 mothers (mean age = 40.11 years; 84.3% White) from the United States who had at least one child aged 5-11 years old. They were recruited online and completed questionnaires on Qualtrics (Provo, UT) about their youngest children aged 5-11 years. RESULTS: Most mothers (n = 595; 72.6%) reported they were very likely to have their child vaccinated for COVID-19 once a vaccine is available for children. After controlling for maternal and child factors, maternal trust in the COVID-19 vaccine development and approval process (odds ratio [OR] = 35.07; p < .001) was associated with maternal likelihood of having one's child vaccinated for COVID-19. DISCUSSION: Our findings highlight that one strategy for increasing maternal intent to have one's child vaccinated for COVID-19 may be bolstering maternal trust in the COVID-19 development and approval process.