Parent's Vaccination Status Influences Children’s Likelihood of Immunization
Children were 2.77 times more likely to be vaccinated for influenza if an adult caregiver received a seasonal influenza vaccine, and were also more likely to receive noninfluenza vaccinations, according to the results of a new study.
The study included 450,687 adult caregiver and child pairs from the Oregon ALERT Immunization Information System. Researchers assessed the influence of adult immunization on influenza vaccination and noninfluenza vaccination status for children and adolescents 9 months to 17 years of age from influenza season 2010-2011 through 2014-2015.
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Their findings showed that children of adults who were vaccinated for influenza were 2.77 times more likely to receive a seasonal influenza vaccine for each season.
In addition, adult immunization status was found to be significantly associated with the likelihood of noninfluenza vaccination in children and adolescents, including human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV). Boys, as opposed to girls, were more likely to be vaccinated for HPV if their adult caregiver was immunized for influenza.
If not immunized in the previous season, a child was 5.44 times more likely to be vaccinated for influenza the next year if an adult caregiver also transitioned from nonimmunized to immunized.
“This finding suggests that the processes parents use in making their own and their children’s immunization decisions are not only linked but also stable despite seasonal differences,” the researchers concluded. “Increasing children’s immunization rates for seasonal influenza and other vaccines may depend on increasing parents’ access to and acceptance of immunizations for themselves.”
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Robison SG and Osborn AW. The concordance of parent and child immunization [published online March April 17, 2017]. Pediatrics. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2883.