Factors Affecting Egyptian Mothers' Intentions to Vaccinate Their Children against COVID-19: A Cross Sectional Study in Egypt

Background: The rapid increase in the COVID-19 cases among children needs more attention from health care workers especially nurses. The rapid expansion of vaccines covering children is an important factor for combating this catastrophic pandemic. Aim: to investigate factors affecting Egyptian mothers' intentions to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Subjects and Method: Design: A descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized in this study. Setting: the study was carried out at pediatric outpatient clinics at Tanta University Hospital. Subjects: 1200 mothers who had children under the age of 18 were recruited to participate in this study. Tool of the study: A structured interview questionnaire that had three parts. The first part covered the socio-demographic characteristics of the mothers, the second part measured mothers’ vaccination intention, factors affecting their intentions and the third part was assessing the mothers' trust in the recommended COVID-19 vaccination schedule Results: The results indicated that nearly half of participated mothers (49%) were extremely unlikely to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19 and two thirds (64%)of them were hesitant to give the vaccine because they were afraid from the side effect of the vaccine on their children. Conclusion: The hesitant mothers in this study were concerned about the vaccine's side effects and this was the first factor the mothers consider when deciding to vaccinate their children. Recommendations: Pediatric nurses should understand factors prevent the mothers from vaccinating their children to be able to design and apply health education campaigns about the COVID-19 vaccine that target mothers