Data from a survey representing more than 7,500 parents showed that about one-quarter were hesitant to get their child vaccinated.
The survey was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior data indicate that only 44% of children aged 24 months are fully vaccinated according to CDC and AAP recommendations, Kimberly H. Nguyen, DrPH, MS, an epidemiologist at the CDC, and colleagues wrote in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“Countering vaccine hesitancy is critical to strengthen trust in vaccines among parents and maintain a culture that recognizes the continuing value of vaccines to prevent diseases,” the researchers wrote. “A better understanding of how parents’ vaccine hesitancy beliefs are associated with decreased childhood vaccinations across different socioeconomic populations is an important step in developing tailored intervention strategies.”
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The new findings closely align with older studies that examined vaccine uptake among underrepresented populations, according to Nguyen and colleagues.
The researchers provided several CDC-endorsed strategies for increasing vaccine uptake and vaccine confidence, including determining which populations have low vaccination rates; providing data during office visits to back up physician-made claims; and discussing and dispelling myths and misinformation with patients who are vaccine hesitant.
