Political Affiliation and Race Associated With Parents’ Intentions to Have a COVID-19 Vaccination but Not With History of Refusing to Vaccinate a Child: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background: Parental attitudes about vaccinating themselves against COVID-19 may offer insights into their attitudes about vaccinating their children when the time comes. The objective was to identify parents with high COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy to prioritize for vaccine education interventions.Methods. We conducted multiple logistic regression on data from a nationally representative sample to estimate the association between socio-demographic factors and COVID-19 vaccine intention and history of refusal to vaccinate a child. Results. In the adjusted model, parents who were Black, female, Republican, and lower income had a significantly lower odds of COVID-19 vaccine intention (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR]=0.47, 0.73, 2.59, 0.50, respectively). Only age was associated with previous vaccine refusal. Conclusions. The results highlight the politicization of the pandemic and the possibility of continued disparities in COVID-19 health outcomes among those unlikely to get COVID-19 vaccination. Overall, a high proportion of parents and children may ultimately go unvaccinated given that parents’ vaccine behavior is closely tied to that of their children. This is concerning given the role that younger adults and pediatric populations play in sustaining SARS-CoV-2 transmission.