Assessment of Healthcare Personal Attitudes Towards Vaccinating their Children for COVID-19 in a University Healthcare System

Context: Healthcare personnel (HCP) will be key to the success of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination programs for children <18.

Objective: The project assessed specific concerns among HCPs that would undermine vaccination efforts.

Study Design: cross-sectional survey of HCPs at one academic health center was conducted between December 2021 and January 2022 to evaluate attitudes, beliefs, sources of information, and willingness to vaccinate their children <18.

Setting or Dataset: Single academic medical center in northeastern US.

Population Studied: HCPs, other employees, and students at an academic medical center.

Intervention/Instrument: Survey tool deployed via RedCap.

Outcome Measures: descriptive calculations including percentages of respondents and Likert scores, as well as inferential analyses to determine predictors of non-willingness to vaccinate.

Results: There were 1,538 survey respondents. Differences were observed between professional roles (p<.001). Physician & Faculty respondents were enthusiastically vaccinated (94.9%-100%), as were Pharmacists (92.5%) and Advanced Practice Providers (88.5%), among other professional categories. Only 81% of Registered Nurses indicated enthusiastic vaccination. Of those willingly vaccinated, 6.6% have a history of COVID infection vs. 23% of those who were unwillingly vaccinated (p<.001). Those willingly vaccinated were also more willing to vaccinate children 5-17 (p<.001), as well as children aged 0-4 when available (p=.008). Those who intend to vaccinate their children were significantly more likely to use a variety of sources of information.

Expected Outcomes: We observed that self-reported willingness to vaccinate children against COVID-19 differs by HCP role, with a large gap between physicians and scientists vs. nurses. Additionally, one’s own vaccination status and infection history predicted willingness to vaccinate children, suggesting issues around perceived severity or susceptibility. These findings highlight important heterogeneity in attitudes among HCPs around COVID-19 vaccines and a need for tailored communication strategies.