Parental vaccine hesitancy and influenza vaccine type preferences during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Abstract Seasonal influenza vaccine (SIV) significantly reduces influenza-related illnesses among school-aged children, yet parental vaccine hesitancy remains a persistent challenge. Two types of SIV are available for children in Hong Kong and other locations: inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV), administered through intramuscular injection, and live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), administered via nasal spray. While injection or needle fears are important barriers to childhood vaccination uptake, little research has explored how vaccine hesitancy can shape parental preference for LAIV versus IIV, particularly amidst important public health events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive rollout of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. Our study employs a concurrent mixed-methods design to address this gap comprehensively. The quantitative part involves longitudinal surveys spanning three years, from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic periods, tracking parental vaccine hesitancy and preference for SIV types. The qualitative part involves 48 in-depth interviews, providing in-depth insights into parental preference for SIV types, underlying reasons, and corresponding values. Our quantitative analyses revealed an overall increase in parental vaccine hesitancy and preference for LAIV over IIV after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and especially after the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Further logistic regression modelling based on the cohort data showed that higher vaccine hesitancy, coupled with the COVID-19 vaccination campaign rollout, predicts a greater preference for LAIV over IIV. The qualitative analysis complements these results, highlighting that LAIV’s non-invasive nature aligns with parental values of prioritizing natural immunity and concerns about overmedication. Consequently, hesitant parents perceive LAIV as less intrusive and more acceptable, emphasizing the need for future tailored risk communication. Leveraging the higher acceptability of LAIV compared to IIV among parents with high vaccine hesitancy could promote childhood vaccination uptake.

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