COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women and mothers of young children: results of a survey in 16 countries

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pregnancy; Vaccination; Vaccine acceptance; Vaccine confidence.

Fig. 1

Enrollment occurred in the 14 most-affected countries during Oct 28–Nov 18, 2020, through an online pregnant women and mothers’ social media community, Pregistry. New Zealand and Australia were included as reference countries

Fig. 2

COVID-19 Vaccine acceptance among pregnant women and mothers of young children. a COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women (n = 5294) for themselves, assuming a vaccine efficacy of 90%. b COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among non-pregnant mothers (n = 12,562) for themselves, assuming a vaccine efficacy of 90%. c COVID-19 Vaccine acceptance among mothers and mothers-to-be (n = 17,054) for their children, at an efficacy of 90%

Fig. 2

COVID-19 Vaccine acceptance among pregnant women and mothers of young children. a COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women (n = 5294) for themselves, assuming a vaccine efficacy of 90%. b COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among non-pregnant mothers (n = 12,562) for themselves, assuming a vaccine efficacy of 90%. c COVID-19 Vaccine acceptance among mothers and mothers-to-be (n = 17,054) for their children, at an efficacy of 90%

Fig. 3

COVID-19 vaccine confidence markers among pregnant women and mothers of young children. a Confidence that the COVID-19 vaccine approved will be safe (n = 17,790). b Confidence that the COVID-19 vaccine approved will be effective (n = 17,780)

Fig. 4

Perceptions of COVID-19 among pregnant women and mothers of school-aged children. a Worries about COVID-19 (n = 17,844). b Mask-wearing compliance (n = 17,803)

Fig. 5

Public trust and satisfaction among pregnant women and mothers of school-aged children. a Trust that public health agencies would provide accurate vaccine safety information (n = 17,839). b Satisfaction on responsiveness of government policies to participants concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 17,838)