Vaccine hesitancy VH in maternal decision-making is important to understand to achieve community immunity targets and optimize pediatric COVID vaccine adoption. As part of a cross-sectional, quantitative study, women completed an online survey. In total, Social processes were identified as instrumental barriers and facilitators to COVID vaccination, meaning that social norms and information sharing among social networks are critical in maternal vaccination decision-making.
Further research is required to fully understand the factors that build confidence and mitigate hesitancy in mothers, especially mothers who have experienced IPV. Previous research has demonstrated that maternal conviction and motivation are central to pediatric vaccination uptake, however, mothers who experience intimate partner violence IPV are more likely to be vaccine hesitant VH and thus, under-immunize their children.
To date, this research has been primarily conducted in non-Canadian populations. This study provides novel evidence of maternal experiences of IPV significantly increasing VH in the Canadian context. In addition, these data demonstrate a large increase in maternal COVID vaccine hesitancy as compared to routine childhood vaccinations.
However, vaccine hesitancy VH in Canada is of growing concern, as the results of a survey revealed that vaccination targets were not met for any vaccine in two-year-old children Government of Canada, VH encompasses both attitudes and behaviours about vaccines e. Out of an abundance of caution, clinical trials have been slow to include children, yet the impact of COVID upon children has been established as more severe than many of the illnesses for which pediatric vaccinations already exist Anderson et al.
Direct benefits of pediatric vaccination against COVID are ample, including protecting children from the virus and post-infection conditions, improving educational outcomes given a safe return to school, and promoting psycho-social development from the resumption of extracurricular activities Anderson et al.
