Abstract
Introduction: As the 2020- 2021 flu season coincides with the currently circulating Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Ireland is introducing free influenza vaccines to children ages 2- 12 this year. This is to minimise the disease and economic burden of influenza to an already- strained hospital system due to the ongoing pandemic. Therefore, it is important to identify factors that may affect vaccine uptake. Objective: To explore parental knowledge and attitudes towards influenza infection and potential factors affecting willingness to routinely vaccinate their child (ren). Methods: This descriptive study involved interviewing parents (n= 300) attending the paediatric outpatient department (OPD) at University Hospital Galway. A pilot study assisted with standardizing the questionnaire and in optimizing the clinical catchment area (Emergency Department vs. postnatal ward vs. OPD clinics). Galway Clinical Research Ethics Committee granted the ethical approval and data was analyzed using SPSS. Results: The majority of respondents were Irish (251, 83.7%), 236 (78.7%) with private health insurance. The commonest age range was 31-40 years (163, 54.3%). Less than 40% had a Bachelor’s degree (113, 37.7%) as their highest education level. Most participants (226, 75.3%) agreed with annual influenza vaccine for their child if recommended. The following factors were shown to positively affect potential annual influenza vaccine uptake (p
Highlights
The 2020-2021 flu season will coincide with the currently circulating Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which shares similar symptoms with the seasonal influenza [1]
Australia, which has had its flu season as COVID-19 started to spread, reported a record low flu season of 21,187 cases as compared to 298,120 in 2019 [3,4]. This can be attributed to their increased influenza vaccine uptake in addition to the pandemic precautions such as social distancing and wearing face masks in public. 18 million vaccinations were given this flu season as compared to 13 million last year [5]
This study found similar results in that parents with a higher level of influenza knowledge and parents without specific concerns regarding the influenza vaccine (88.5%, p< 0.001) were more likely to vaccinate their child against the disease
Summary
The 2020-2021 flu season will coincide with the currently circulating Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which shares similar symptoms with the seasonal influenza [1]. Australia, which has had its flu season as COVID-19 started to spread, reported a record low flu season of 21,187 cases as compared to 298,120 in 2019 [3,4]. This can be attributed to their increased influenza vaccine uptake in addition to the pandemic precautions such as social distancing and wearing face masks in public. In May 2020, Ireland has announced that the influenza vaccine will be free for all children aged 2 to 12 years old for the upcoming flu season [6]. The introduction of routine paediatric influenza vaccination has been anticipated prior to this global pandemic
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