Caregivers' Willingness to Accept Expedited Vaccine Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Survey

Purpose This study determined the predictors of caregivers' willingness to accept an accelerated regulatory process for the development of vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods An international cross-sectional survey was administered to 2557 caregivers of children in 17 pediatric emergency departments (EDs) across 6 countries from March 26, 2020, to June 30, 2020. Caregivers were asked to select 1 of 4 choices with which they most agreed regarding a proposed COVID-19 vaccine–approval process, in addition to questions regarding demographic characteristics, the ED visit, and attitudes about COVID-19. Univariate analyses were conducted using the Mann–Whitney U test for comparing non–normally distributed continuous variables, an independent t test for comparing normally distributed continuous variables, and a χ2 or Fisher exact test for categorical variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used for determining independent factors associated with caregivers' willingness to accept abridged development of a COVID-19 vaccine. A P value of
Highlights • Half of caregivers accept an abridged process for rapid COVID-19 vaccine approval. • Seeking fast approval associated with caregiver’s gender, intent to vaccinate child. • Concern about own COVID-19 infection associated with preferring expedited approval.