Parental coronavirus disease vaccine hesitancy for children in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requires mass immunization to control the severity of symptoms and global spread. Data from developed countries have shown a high prevalence of parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. However, parental vaccine hesitancy data in low- and middle-income countries are scarce. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of parental vaccine hesitancy and identify subgroups with higher odds of vaccine hesitancy in parents in Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the parents of children aged <18 years from October 10, 2021 to October 31, 2021. Parents participated in face-to-face interviews in randomly selected locations in Bangladesh using a vaccine hesitancy questionnaire. Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were identified using binary logistic regression analysis. Results: Data from 2,633 eligible parents were analyzed. Overall, 42.8% reported COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for their youngest child. The final model suggested the following factors were associated with hesitancy: children's age; parent's age, religion, occupation, monthly household income, permanent address, living location, status of tobacco use, adherence with regular government vaccination programs (other than COVID-19), perceptions of COVID-19 vaccine efficacy among Bangladeshi children, self-vaccination intentions, reported family members' illness or death from COVID-19, and perceived threat of COVID-19 were the independent predictors of parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Conversely, participants who were not tobacco users, parents who were very likely to believe that their children or family members could be infected with COVID-19 in the following year and who were very concerned about their children or a family member contracting COVID-19 in the next year had significantly lower odds of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Conclusions: Our study suggested that vaccine hesitation varied based on sociodemographic characteristics, religion, behavior, and perceived COVID-19 threat. Therefore, interventions focused on addressing vaccine hesitancy among specific subgroups are warranted.

Parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about parental coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). This survey estimated the prevalence and predictive factors of vaccine hesitancy among parents of children with NDD. METHODS: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 10 to 31, 2021. A structured vaccine hesitancy questionnaire was used to collect data from parents aged ≥ 18 years with children with NDD. In addition, individual face-to-face interviews were conducted at randomly selected places throughout Bangladesh. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictors of vaccine hesitancy. RESULTS: A total of 396 parents participated in the study. Of these, 169 (42.7%) parents were hesitant to vaccinate their children. Higher odds of vaccine hesitancy were found among parents who lived in the northern zone (AOR = 17.15, 95% CI = 5.86-50.09; p < 0.001), those who thought vaccines would not be safe and effective for Bangladeshi children (AOR = 3.22, 95% CI = 1.68-15.19; p < 0.001), those who were either not vaccinated or did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine themselves (AOR = 12.14, 95% CI = 8.48-17.36; p < 0.001), those who said that they or their family members had not tested positive for COVID-19 (AOR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.07-4.25), and those who did not lose a family member to COVID-19 (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.03-4.61; p = 0.040). Furthermore, parents who were not likely to believe that their children or a family member could be infected with COVID-19 the following year (AOR = 4.99, 95% CI = 1.81-13.77; p < 0.001) and who were not concerned at all about their children or a family member being infected the following year (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.65-8.37; p = 0.043) had significantly higher odds of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high prevalence of vaccine hesitancy, policymakers, public health practitioners, and pediatricians can implement and support strategies to ensure that children with NDD and their caregivers and family members receive the COVID-19 vaccine to fight pandemic induced hazards.