COVID-19 and Parent Intention to Vaccinate Their Children Against Influenza

OBJECTIVES: Evaluate if the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic influences parents' intentions to have their children receive the 2020-2021 seasonal influenza vaccination. METHODS: In May 2020, we recruited 2164 US parents and guardians of children ages 6 months to 5 years to complete a brief online survey that examined parental behavior and decision-making in response to experimental stimuli and real-world events. We estimated a multivariate multinomial logistic regression (controlling for key demographics) to assess the relationship between a child's 2019-2020 influenza vaccination status and the COVID-19 pandemic's influence on a parent's intentions for their child's 2020-2021 influenza vaccination. RESULTS: Changes in vaccination intentions significantly differed between parents whose children received the 2019-2020 influenza vaccine compared with those whose children did not (P < .001). Specifically, among parents whose children did not receive the 2019-2020 vaccine, 34% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30%-37%) reported that the COVID-19 pandemic made them less likely to have their child receive the 2020-2021 vaccine. Among those whose children did receive the 2019-2020 vaccine, this figure was just 24% (95% CI: 22%-27%). Conversely, only 21% (95% CI: 18%-24%) of parents whose children did not receive the 2019-2020 vaccine reported that the COVID-19 pandemic made them more likely to have their child receive the 2020-2021 vaccine, compared with 39% (95% CI: 36%-41%) of parents whose children did receive the 2019-2020 vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic alone does not appear sufficient to encourage the uptake of pediatric seasonal influenza vaccination. Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate polarity in vaccination uptake. We evaluated if the COVID-19 pandemic influences parents' intentions to have their children receive the 2020-2021 seasonal influenza vaccination.