Abstract
Parental attitudes towards childhood vaccination programs are important for successful delivery. Children were affected by COVID-19; however, parental attitudes towards childhood COVID-19 vaccination have not been fully assessed. The purpose is to assess parental hesitancy and attitudes about their children receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. This was a cross-sectional study using an electronically distributed questionnaire including a convenience sample of 123 Saudi Arabian parents of school-aged children between five and eleven years old. Most of the participants were mothers (77.2%) aged 31-40 years old (61%). The mean score of the questionnaire about parents' attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine was M = 18.95, SD = 5.52. Only 39% of the parents were hesitant to have their children receive the seasonal influenza vaccine compared to 74% who were hesitant to have their children receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Most of the children (80%) did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine because of parental concerns about the vaccine's side effects (49.5 %). Parents whose children received the COVID-19 vaccine (Median = 24, IQR = 9) had higher attitude scores than those whose children did not receive the vaccine (Median = 17, IQR = 6). The findings shed light on parental attitudes towards their children receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. Healthcare providers can build upon this study to improve parental attitudes towards childhood vaccination.