Brazilian adults’ attitudes and practices regarding the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and their hesitancy towards childhood vaccination

• Autor(a) principal: Martinez, Edson Zangiacomi
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Zucoloto, Miriane Lucindo, Ramos, Vania Pinheiro, Dutra, Carla Daiane Costa, Jesus, Giselle Juliana de, Esteves, Arinete Veras Fontes, Abreu, Isabella Schroeder, Mombelli, Monica Augusta, Reis, Roberta Alvarenga, Campoamor, Marília Marcondes, Silva, Wanderson Roberto da, Santos, Cláudia Benedita dos
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRGS
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10183/253583
• topic: Hesitação vacinal; Criança; Saúde pública; Vaccine hesitancy; Children; Paediatrics; Public health

Background: This study investigated the attitudes and practices of Brazilian adults regarding the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and their hesitancy towards the vaccination of children. Methods: Between March and May 2022, Brazilian adults answered an online questionnaire distributed through social media. The SAGE-WG questionnaire was adapted to measure hesitancy to the vaccination of children. Results: Of the 1007 participants, 67.4% believed that adult COVID-19 vaccination should be mandatory. Just over half of the participants (51.5%) believed that parents and/or guardians should decide if their children should be vaccinated against COVID-19 or not and 9.1% were unsure. Individuals who were younger, non-religious and had higher awareness of COVID-19 risks and critics of the federal government’s performance in combating the pandemic were more likely to agree with mandatory adult vaccination. However, less agreement among parents and/or guardians concerning children’s vaccination was observed, with lower scores for hesitancy to the vaccination of children. Conclusion: In Brazil, there is still far from a consensus on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for adults and a significant proportion of the population believes that parents and/or guardians should be free to decide on their children’s vaccination. These views are associated with age, religion, knowledge of COVID-19 risks and political inclination.