Social Media Interventions Strengthened COVID-19 Immunization Campaign

Antonio Di Mauro; Federica Di Mauro; Sara De Nitto; Letizia Rizzo; Chiara Greco; Pasquale Stefanizzi; Silvio Tafuri; Maria Elisabetta Baldassarre; Nicola Laforgia

doi:10.3389/fped.2022.869893

Social Media Interventions Strengthened COVID-19 Immunization Campaign

Front Pediatr. 2022 Apr 5:10:869893. doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.869893. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Antonio Di Mauro¹, Federica Di Mauro², Sara De Nitto², Letizia Rizzo², Chiara Greco³, Pasquale Stefanizzi³, Silvio Tafuri³, Maria Elisabetta Baldassarre³, Nicola Laforgia⁴

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Primary Care, National Pediatric Health Care System, Margherita di Savoia (BAT), Italy.
² Department of Prevention, Local Health Authority of Bari, Bari, Italy.
³ Department of Biomedical Science and Human Oncology, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
⁴ Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.

Abstract

Background: Since The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) has recommended the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty in children aged 5-11, the immunization campaign faced vaccine hesitancy in parents. Social media are emerging as leading information source that could play a significant role to counteract vaccine hesitancy, influencing parents' opinions and perceptions. Our aim was to evaluate the coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty in a cohort of children aged 5-11 whose families have been counseled to use Social Media to counteract vaccine hesitancy.

Methods: All parents of children aged 5-11 in a primary care setting were instructed by their pediatrician to get accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine from a Facebook page. Active calls to vaccinate children were also scheduled through messaging services Pediatotem and Whatsapp. Vaccination rates of children in the study were assessed with an electronic database and compared to both regional and national child vaccination rates.

Results: Coverage of 277 children aged 5-11 was analyzed from 16 December 2021 to 31 January 2022. A total of 62.4% (173/277) of enrolled children received the 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and 39.7% (110/277) the 2nd dose. Coverage rates were higher compared both to the regional population (1st dose: 48.8%, 2nd dose: 24.6%; p = 0.001) and national population (1st dose: 32.1%, 2nd dose: 13.8%; p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Increasing vaccine confidence using Social Media interventions have a positive impact on vaccination acceptance of parents.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; COVID-19 vaccine acceptance; primary care pediatrician; social media; vaccine hesitancy.