COVID-19 Vaccination for Children: Acceptance by the Mothers of Children Aged 2-12 Years in Tamil Nadu
Abstract
Background: Despite the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination by adults, the parents are hesitant to vaccinate their children due to safety, side effects and efficiency concerns. The objective of the present study is to find acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine for children among mothers.
Materials and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among mothers of children 2-12 years residing in a village of field practice area of Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chengalpet district. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used. Vaccine hesitancy was scored with the Likert scale. The data collected was entered and analysed with SPSS IBM version 22.0.
Results: Among the study participants, the majority of the mothers 121 (90%) had more than 4 visits during their antenatal period. Institutional deliveries 124 (92%) were reported by mothers. The majority of the children 114 (82%) were fully vaccinated as per the immunisation schedule. Few of the mothers 46 (34.3%) reported that adults in the family are yet to be completely vaccinated for COVID-19. 13 (10%) of the mothers reported that there was a COVID-19 related death in the family or neighbourhood. Among the mothers, 50 (37%) had COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and were not willing to vaccinate their children. Mothers’ education, COVID-19 deaths in family or neighbourhood, fathers’ education were the determining factors for vaccine acceptance.
Conclusion: Before planning vaccination on a mass scale, we need to increase the acceptance rate through awareness and educational programmes.
How to cite this article:
Chellaiyan VG, Alfred J, Jasmine M, Nigilesh Sundar M. COVID-19 Vaccination for Children: Acceptance by the Mothers of Children Aged 2-12 Years in Tamil Nadu. Special Issue - COVID-19 & Other Communicable Disease. 2022;62-67.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202210
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