PARENTS‘ KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF AND HESITANCY TOWARDS COVID-19 VACCINE AMONG PAEDIATRIC PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL SEBERANG JAYA, PULAU PINANG
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37268/mjphm/vol.23/no.1/art.1740Keywords:
Covid-19 vaccine, vaccine hesitancy, knowledge, perception, parents' vaccination acceptanceAbstract
The COVID-19 epidemic has had serious negative effects on children in terms of both their health and societal effects. However, owing to reports of a low vaccination rate, the objective of this study was to explore the factors associated with parents’ hesitation in getting their young children vaccinated. This is a cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary hospital. All parents or legal guardians of paediatric patients with chronic illnesses aged 3 to 11 who visited the hospital during the study period filled out the online questionnaire. Two hundred and thirty-five outpatient clinic respondents and 77 ward respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire. Malays made up the majority (88.5%), followed by Chinese (6.7%) and Indians (4.8%). Ethnicity, information sources, children‘s age, knowledge score and vaccine perception were found to be significantly different across three degrees of acceptance – ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Not sure’. There was a significant correlation between ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ replies and parents‘ perceptions of immunisation hurdles. When compared to the Malays, the Chinese had substantially lower odds of responding with ‘Not sure’. Parents‘ acceptance of the vaccine was influenced by their awareness of COVID-19, the effectiveness of the vaccine, any side effects and doctors‘ recommendations. Parents were less concerned about vaccine side effects as their children aged. To infer, authorities should respond to public concerns and adverse events related to immunisation in a timely and transparent manner. To increase immunisation rates, it is important to inform the public that the advantages of receiving COVID-19 vaccination exceed its risks.
References
. REFERENCES
Cases by Age Group [Available from: https://covidnow.moh.gov.my/cases/.
Selected Adverse Events Reported after COVID-19 Vaccination [Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html.
Rhodes ME, Sundstrom B, Ritter E, McKeever BW, McKeever R. Preparing for A COVID-19 Vaccine: A Mixed Methods Study of Vaccine Hesitant Parents. J Health Commun. 2020;25(10):831-7.
Pemberian Vaksin Covid-19 untuk kanak-kanak berusia 5 hingga bawah 12 tahun akan bermula February 2022. 2022.
de Winter JP, de Winter D, Bollati V, Milani GPJEJoP. A safe flight for children through COVID-19 disaster: keeping our mind open! : Springer; 2020. p. 1175-7.
d’Orville HJP. COVID-19 causes unprecedented educational disruption: Is there a road towards a new normal? 2020;49(1):11-5.
KJ on vaccination for kids: No longer time to wait and see. 2022 9/3/2022.
Feldstein LR, Rose EB, Horwitz SM, Collins JP, Newhams MM, Son MBF, et al. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in US children and adolescents. 2020;383(4):334-46.
Harman K, Verma A, Cook J, Radia T, Zuckerman M, Deep A, et al. Ethnicity and COVID-19 in children with comorbidities. 2020;4(7):e24-e5.
Syed Alwi S, Rafidah E, Zurraini A, Juslina O, Brohi I, Lukas SJBPH. A survey on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and concern among Malaysians. 2021;21(1):1-12.
Omicron variant: Children among the most vulnerable. 2022.
Randolph HE, Barreiro LBJI. Herd immunity: understanding COVID-19. 2020;52(5):737-41.
Ruggiero KM, Wong J, Sweeney CF, Avola A, Auger A, Macaluso M, et al. Parents’ intentions to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. 2021;35(5):509-17.
Cavaleri M, Enzmann H, Straus S, Cooke EJTL. The European Medicines Agency's EU conditional marketing authorisations for COVID-19 vaccines. 2021;397(10272):355-7.
Voo JYH, Lean QY, Ming LC, Md. Hanafiah NH, Al-Worafi YM, Ibrahim B. Vaccine Knowledge, Awareness and Hesitancy: A Cross Sectional Survey among Parents Residing at Sandakan District, Sabah. 2021;9(11):1348.
Organization WH. Improving vaccination demand and addressing hesitancy.
Dubé E, Gagnon D, Nickels E, Jeram S, Schuster MJV. Mapping vaccine hesitancy—Country-specific characteristics of a global phenomenon. 2014;32(49):6649-54.
Bell S, Clarke R, Mounier-Jack S, Walker JL, Paterson PJV. Parents’ and guardians’ views on the acceptability of a future COVID-19 vaccine: A multi-methods study in England. 2020;38(49):7789-98.
Puri N, Coomes EA, Haghbayan H, Gunaratne KJHv, immunotherapeutics. Social media and vaccine hesitancy: new updates for the era of COVID-19 and globalized infectious diseases. 2020;16(11):2586-93.
Malaysia uses mosque sermons to overcome Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy. The News Straits Times. 2021 PUBLISHED MAR 11, 2021.
Szilagyi PG, Shah MD, Delgado JR, Thomas K, Vizueta N, Cui Y, et al. Parents’ intentions and perceptions about COVID-19 vaccination for their children: Results from a national survey. 2021;148(4).
Malay parents most unwilling to vaccinate their kids, data reveals they don't want their young vaccinated. 2022 21 February 2022.
Mixed reaction from parents over jabs for young children. 2022 20/1/2022.
Fahriani M, Anwar S, Yufika A, Bakhtiar B, Wardani E, Winardi W, et al. Disruption of childhood vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. 2021;1(1).
