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This study evaluated the impact of a continuing medical education (CME) program that emphasized actionable information, motivation to act, and skills to strengthen physician recommendations for seasonal influenza vaccination in children 6 through 23 months of age for whom influenza immunization rates are suboptimal. Physicians were randomly assigned to an accredited CME program or to no CME. Participants completed pre- and post-study questionnaires. Influenza immunization rates were compared between groups. A total of 33 physicians in the CME group and 35 in the control group documented 292 and 322 healthy baby visits, respectively. Significantly more parents immunized their children against influenza after interacting with CME-trained physicians than those with no CME training (52.9% vs. 40.7%; p = 0.007). The odds ratio for vaccination after visits with CME-trained physicians was 1.52 (95% confidence interval 1.09 to 2.12; p = 0.014), which was unaffected by the socioeconomic status of parents. Parents who discussed influenza vaccination with CME-trained physicians were 20% more likely to choose an approved but publicly unfunded adjuvanted pediatric influenza vaccine. The percentages of physicians reporting the highest levels of knowledge, ability, and confidence doubled or tripled after the CME intervention. Significantly more parents immunized very young children after interacting with physicians who had undergone CME training.

This prospective cohort survey evaluated the concordance of clinicians’ perceptions of parental intentions and parents’ actual intentions to vaccinate their infants against influenza. During a routine healthy baby visit, clinicians provided parents with information about influenza, children’s vulnerability to influenza, and nonadjuvanted and adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccines (TIV and aTIV, respectively). Before and after the clinician–parent interaction, parents were surveyed about their attitudes, their perceptions of support from significant others, and the intention to vaccinate their infant with aTIV. Clinicians were asked about their perception of parents’ intentions to choose aTIV for their children. These assessments included 24 clinicians at 15 community practices and nine public health clinics, and 207 parents. The correlation coefficients of the clinicians’ assessment of parents’ intention to vaccinate were 0.483 (p < 0.001) if the vaccine was presented as free of cost, 0.266 (p < 0.001) if the cost was $25, and 0.146 (p = 0.036) if the cost was $50, accounting for 23%, 7%, and 2% of the variance in parental intentions, respectively. The clinicians were poor at predicting parental intentions to immunize, particularly when cost was involved. Information on vaccine options and influenza infection should be provided for every eligible patient to allow parents to determine if the vaccine is appropriate for their child.

Adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV) provides enhanced protection against seasonal influenza in children compared with nonadjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV). This prospective cohort study assessed parental attitudes, beliefs, and intentions to vaccinate their infants aged 6–23 months with aTIV. Parents were surveyed before and after routine healthy baby visits, and post clinician interaction results were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. Physicians at 15 community practice clinics and nurses at 3 public health clinics participated; 207 parents were surveyed. After clinician consultation, most parents considered immunization with aTIV to be safe (72.9%), effective (69.6%), and important (69.0%); most perceived support for vaccination from significant others (62.8%) and clinicians (81.6%); and 66.6% intended to vaccinate their infant with aTIV. Parental attitudes toward vaccinating their infant with aTIV were strongly correlated with perceptions of vaccine safety, efficacy, and importance, and these represented the strongest influence on intentions to vaccinate (odds ratio (OR) 79.25; 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.05–1037.50). Parental intentions were further influenced by perceived strength of clinician recommendation (OR 4.55, 95% CI 1.38–15.06) and social support for vaccination (OR 3.46, 95% CI 0.50–24.13). These findings may inform clinician approaches to parental education to ensure optimal seasonal pediatric influenza vaccination.

The adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV) provides enhanced protection against influenza for infants but is not publicly funded (NPF). The objective of this prospective cohort study of parents with children 6 through 23 months of age was to understand how NPF status influences parental perceptions of approved but unfunded vaccines and their intentions to vaccinate. At healthy baby visits, clinicians provided parents with information about influenza and vaccination. Before and after these interactions, a research nurse assessed parents’ intentions to vaccinate their children and their beliefs about the safety, efficacy, and necessity of vaccinating their children with aTIV in both publicly funded (PF) and NPF settings. Overall, 15 community practice clinics (n = 15 physicians) and nine public health clinics (n = 9 nurses) recruited 207 parents. The percentage of parents intending to immunize their children with aTIV decreased from 72% (vaccine PF, free of charge), to 42% (NPF, $25 per dose), to 27% (NPF, $50 per dose). Funding status strongly influenced whether parents perceived immunization with aTIV to be necessary, safe, and effective. Information on influenza and influenza vaccines should be provided to parents routinely to allow for well-informed decisions on the suitability of specific influenza vaccines for their child.

We assessed the frequency and correlates of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy before Canada’s vaccine rollout. A cross-sectional vaccine hesitancy survey was completed by consecutive patients/family members/staff who received the influenza vaccine at McGill University affiliated hospitals. Based on the self-reported likelihood of receiving a future vaccine (scale 0–10), the following three groups were defined: non-hesitant (score 10), mildly hesitant (7.1–9.9), and significantly hesitant (0–7). Factors associated with vaccine hesitancy were assessed with multivariate logistic regression analyses and binomial logistic regression machine learning modelling. The survey was completed by 1793 people. Thirty-seven percent of participants (n = 669) were hesitant (mildly: 315 (17.6%); significantly: 354 (19.7%)). Lower education levels, opposition and uncertainty about vaccines being mandatory, feelings of not receiving enough information about COVID-19 prevention, perceived social pressure to get a future vaccine, vaccine safety concerns, uncertainty regarding the vaccine risk-benefit ratio, and distrust towards pharmaceutical companies were factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine safety concerns and opposition to mandatory vaccinations were the strongest correlates of vaccine hesitancy in both the logistic regressions and the machine learning model. In conclusion, in this study, over a third of people immunized for influenza before the COVID-19 vaccine rollout expressed some degree of vaccine hesitancy. Effectively addressing COVID-19 vaccine safety concerns may enhance vaccine uptake.