COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among low-income, racially and ethnically diverse US parents.
Samantha Schilling, Colin J Orr, Alan M Delamater and 6 others
PMID 35393230WHAT IT FOUND
Most parents were undecided about vaccinating their children, not opposed.
Hesitancy stemmed from weighing lower childhood disease severity against vaccine safety concerns and misinformation, rather than a refusal to engage.
Key findings
01Only 38% of parents planned to vaccinate their children, while 48% were undecided and 14% did not plan to.
02Hesitant parents often believed the vaccine was effective but felt the risk of severe illness in children was low compared to potential vaccine side effects.
03Social media was a primary source of misinformation regarding safety, whereas confident parents relied on public health agencies and physicians.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (n=50) and drawn from an existing clinical trial, meaning participants were already engaged with healthcare, which may underestimate true hesitancy. Participants were primarily parents of young children (newborn to 5 years), so findings may not apply to parents of adolescents. The study was cross-sectional, capturing a single moment in time (Spring 2021) before pediatric vaccines were approved, so intentions may have changed. Only English and Spanish speakers were included, limiting generalizability to other linguistic groups.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests. The study was funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and NIH.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that parents who are undecided about vaccinating their children are resistant to medical advice. The study found that many of these parents intended to revisit the decision once more data was available, and their hesitancy was often rooted in a specific weighing of risks rather than a rejection of vaccination.