Abstract
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are at a greater risk of respiratory complications from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, this study aimed to assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) among parents of CP children in Egypt, using the Arabic version of the Parental Attitude about Childhood Vaccination (PACV) questionnaire. This cross-sectional survey study was conducted at the outpatient clinics of two hospitals in Cairo, Egypt. Parents of children with CP were recruited using a simple random sampling technique. A total of 321 parents were enrolled; more than half of them were mothers of the children (61.37%); and the majority were Egyptians (87.23%) and living in urban areas (84.42%). Nearly 70% of the parents were hesitant to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to their children. A multiple linear regression model revealed that the PACV mean scores were lower among the following categories: (1) parents who could pay back loans, compared to those who could not pay back loans and who reported insufficient income (β = -2.39, p = 0.030); (2) non-Egyptian parents (β = -1.54, p = 0.002); (3) those who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 themselves or had the intention to receive the complete COVID-19 vaccination (β = -6.28, p < 0.001); (4) those who had the intention to give the COVID-19 vaccination to their children (β = -3.04, p < 0.001); and (5) parents whose children received routine vaccines (β = -2.86, p < 0.045). After adjusting for other covariates, the parental COVID-19 vaccine status (β = -6.28, p < 0.001) and parents who experienced a COVID-19-related death in the family (β = -1.75, p < 0.001) showed significantly lower mean PACV scores. However, higher mean PACV scores were reported among parents who had a COVID-19 infection (β = 2.77, p < 0.001) or who were not sure (β = 2.94, p < 0.001). Our findings suggest the need to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among parents of vulnerable children to reduce the negative consequences of COVID-19.
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