Abstract

With the development of multiple effective vaccines, reducing the global morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 will depend on the distribution and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. Estimates of global vaccine acceptance among pregnant women and mothers of young children are yet unknown. An understanding of the challenges and correlates to vaccine acceptance will aid the acceleration of vaccine administration within these populations. Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women and mothers of children younger than 18-years-old, as well as potential predictors, were assessed through an online survey, administered by Pregistry between October 28 and November 18, 2020. 17,871 total survey responses from 16 countries were obtained. Given a 90% COVID-19 vaccine efficacy, 52.0% of pregnant women (n = 2747/5282) and 73.4% of non-pregnant women (n = 9214/12,562) indicated an intention to receive the vaccine. 69.2% of women (n = 11,800/17,054), both pregnant and non-pregnant, indicated an intention to vaccinate their children. Vaccine acceptance was generally highest in India, the Philippines, and all sampled countries in Latin America; it was lowest in Russia, the United States and Australia. The strongest predictors of vaccine acceptance included confidence in vaccine safety or effectiveness, worrying about COVID-19, belief in the importance of vaccines to their own country, compliance to mask guidelines, trust of public health agencies/health science, as well as attitudes towards routine vaccines. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and its predictors among women vary globally. Vaccination campaigns for women and children should be specific for each country in order to attain the largest impact.

Highlights

  • As we reach the one-year anniversary of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, the devastating impacts of this infectious disease outbreak on society are clear

  • Along with the loss of human life, the pandemic has led to unprecedented public health challenges, stressing health care systems, disrupting supply chains and economies, and prompting a mental health crisis [2, 3]

  • We describe the level of acceptance, attitudes surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine and key predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women and mothers of young children in 16 countries

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Summary

Background

As we reach the one-year anniversary of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, the devastating impacts of this infectious disease outbreak on society are clear. At an unprecedented speed, while holding rigorous regulatory processes [4,5,6]. These vaccines, cannot curb the epidemic without widespread acceptance. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed vaccine hesitancy, defined as the delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines, as one of the top ten threats to global health, even prior to the current COVID-19 pandemic [8, 9]. The COVID-19 vaccine trials generated very limited data on safety and efficacy for pregnant women and children. We describe the level of acceptance, attitudes surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine and key predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women and mothers of young children in 16 countries

Study design and data collection
Study participants
Compliance with ethical standards
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