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Unvaccinated adolescents’ COVID-19 vaccine intentions: Implications for public health messaging
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10 2023
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Source: J Adolesc Health. 73(4):679-685
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Details:
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Alternative Title:J Adolesc Health
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Personal Author:
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Description:Purpose:
COVID-19 vaccine uptake remains low for U.S. adolescents and contributes to excess morbidity and mortality. Most research has assessed parental intention to vaccinate their children. We explored differences between vaccine-acceptant and vaccine-hesitant unvaccinated U.S. adolescents using national survey data.
Methods:
A nonprobability, quota-based sample of adolescents, 13-17 years, was recruited through an online survey panel in April 2021. 1,927 adolescents were screened for participation and the final sample included 985 responses. We assessed responses from unvaccinated adolescents (n=831). Our primary measure was COVID-19 vaccination intent (“vaccine-acceptant” defined as “definitely will” get a COVID-19 vaccine and any other response classified as “vaccine-hesitant”), secondary measures included reasons for intending or not intending to get vaccinated and trusted sources of COVID-19 vaccine information. We calculated descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to explore differences between vaccine-acceptant and vaccine-hesitant adolescents.
Results:
Most (n=831;70.9%) adolescents were hesitant, with more hesitancy observed among adolescents with low levels of concern about COVID-19 and high levels of concern about side effects of COVID-19 vaccination. Among vaccine-hesitant adolescents, reasons for not intending to get vaccinated included waiting for safety data and having parents who would make the vaccination decision. Vaccine-hesitant adolescents had a lower number of trusted information sources than vaccine-acceptant adolescents.
Discussion:
Differences identified between vaccine-acceptant and hesitant adolescents can inform message content and dissemination. Messages should include accurate, age-appropriate information about side effects and risks of COVID-19 infection. Prioritizing dissemination of these messages through family members, state and local government officials and healthcare providers may be most effective.
Implications and Contribution:
COVID-19 vaccine uptake among adolescents remains challenging. Most existing research focuses on parental intentions for their children, however adolescents’ intentions about COVID-19 vaccination are understudied. This study identified important differences between COVID-19 vaccine-accepting and vaccine-hesitant adolescents, which can inform communication with hesitant adolescents in terms of message content and dissemination channels.
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Pubmed ID:37395695
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC10529916
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Volume:73
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Issue:4
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