Background: With an increasing need for COVID-19 vaccination around the globe, we aim to investigate willingness and attitudes of parents regarding COVID-19 vaccines for children in Vietnam.
Method: A 24-item online survey was conducted among 602 parents and legal guardians of children under 18 years of age.
Results: There were 82.6% of parents willing to vaccinate their children. The principal reasons for willingness were: the need for vaccination to control the COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission when children return to school. The most common reason for refusing COVID-19 vaccine was the concern about vaccine side effects in children (73.3%), followed by perceived lack of scientific research on COVID-19 vaccines in children (31.4%). The main associated factors with increased willingness of parents towards childhood COVID-19 vaccine were: willingness to allow children to participate in a clinical vaccine trial (aOR = 3.58); possible increase in COVID-19-related mortality (aOR = 3.69); and positive media information regarding COVID-19 vaccine (aOR = 2.04). Noteworthy, higher educational status of parents was associated with decreased willingness for childhood COVID-19 vaccine (aOR = 0.26).
Conclusion: Understanding reasons of parents to accept childhood COVID-19 vaccines will help future plans in COVID-19 vaccination program. A larger sample size study at a national level is needed to verify the results.
Keywords: COVID-19; attitudes; children; parents; vaccine; willingness.