Recently, the Hong Kong government announced that children aged five or above can be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Department of Early Childhood Education (ECE) of the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) conducted a survey earlier, successfully recruiting 11,141 parents of kindergarten and primary school students aged 5 or above through channels including social media[1], kindergartens and primary schools[2] between 20 to 27 January 2022. An online survey was conducted to understand the parents' intention regarding their children’s COVID-19 vaccination, their views on the efficacy and safety for children being vaccinated against COVID-19, and parents’ access to relevant information regarding the vaccine. Below are the survey findings[3]:
Nearly 10% of the surveyed parents indicated that they would agree to arrange for their children to be vaccinated against COVID-19 without any policy restrictions. If the children’s vaccination status was a consideration when schools resume, 13% of the surveyed parents indicated that they would arrange for their children to be vaccinated against COVID-19. If there were more than one vaccine manufacturer to choose from, 14% of the surveyed parents agreed to arrange for their children to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Table 1：Intention regarding their children’s COVID-19 vaccination [4]
|
|
Disagree/ |
Neutral |
Agree/ |
|
Without any policy restrictions, I will arrange this child to take COVID-19 vaccines |
84.6% |
5.7% |
9.7% |
|
If the children’s vaccination status is a consideration when schools resume, I will arrange this child to take COVID-19 vaccines |
79.0% |
7.5% |
13.5% |
|
If there are more than one vaccine manufacturer to choose from, I will arrangethis child to take COVID-19 vaccines |
70.7% |
14.7% |
14.6% |
Table 2: Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccine for Children
|
|
Disagree/ |
Neutral |
Agree/ |
|
Can reduce the severity of illness if thechildren become infected with COVID-19 |
48.9% |
16.6% |
34.5% |
Table 3: Safety of COVID-19 Vaccine for Children
|
|
Disagree/ |
Neutral |
Agree/ |
|
It is safe for children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine |
81.2% |
4.9% |
13.9% |
|
I am concerned about the possible side effects of COVID-19 vaccine on children |
5.1% |
10.3% |
84.5% |
Table 4: Seeking information regarding the vaccine
|
|
Disagree/ |
Neutral |
Agree/ |
|
In the past week, I regularly and proactively sought information about children's vaccination against COVID-19. |
43.0% |
22.7% |
34.3% |
|
I had received information about the effectiveness of children's vaccination against COVID-19. |
51.4% |
15.2% |
33.4% |
Table 5: Ways for Children to be Vaccinated
|
|
Self-arranged by parents |
Through the School Outreach Team |
Preference not indicated |
|
Assuming that you agree for your children to be given the COVID-19 vaccine, how would you like to make that arrangement? |
60.3% |
31.2% |
8.5% |
Dr Eva Lau Yi-hung, Associate Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Early Childhood Education at EdUHK was in charge of the present survey. She commented that Hong Kong parents were currently expressing a relatively lower level of desire to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 at this stage, and they were generally concerned about the safety of their children if given the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr Jianbin Li, Assistant Professor at the EdUHK Department of Early Childhood Education, pointed out that the survey results showed that parents needed to obtain more information about Covid vaccine for children, and suggested that the relevant authorities should strengthen the provision of information to parents about the efficacy and safety of children's vaccination against COVID-19 for parents’ consideration.
Dr Derwin Chan King-chung, Associate Head and Associate Professor of the Department of Early Childhood Education at EdUHK also pointed out that based on the different preferences of the survey participants on ways to arrange for their children to be vaccinated, he recommended that the government and schools should conduct in-depth consultations in order to allocate and utilize public health resources more effectively.
Table 6: Background of Survey Participants
|
Parents’ demographics |
N (%) |
|
Informant |
|
|
Mother |
9,576 (86.0%) |
|
Father |
1,565 (14.0%) |
|
Parent age |
|
|
30 years old or below |
541 (4.8%) |
|
31 – 40 years old |
6,763 (60.7%) |
|
41 – 50 years old |
3,707 (33.3%) |
|
> 50 years old |
130 (1.2%) |
|
Educational Level |
|
|
Primary school or below |
3,363 (30.2%) |
|
Secondary school to associate degree |
2,305 (20.7%) |
|
Bachelor’s degree or above |
5,473 (49.1%) |
|
Family monthly income |
|
|
HK$20,000 or below |
1,523 (13.7%) |
|
HK$20,001 – HK$40,000 |
3,168 (28.4%) |
|
HK$40,001 – HK$60,000 |
2,678 (24.0%) |
|
HK$60,001 – HK$80,000 |
1,532 (13.8%) |
|
HK$80,001 – HK$100,000 |
942 (8.5%) |
|
HK$100,000 or above |
1,298 (11.7%) |
|
Parent’s history of COVID-19 vaccination |
|
|
Not vaccinated |
3,206 (28.8%) |
|
At least vaccinated one dose |
7,935 (71.2%) |
|
Method of obtaining survey information |
|
|
EdUHK website |
226 (2.0%) |
|
Social media (e.g. Facebook) |
1,535 (13.8%) |
|
School of children |
753 (6.8%) |
|
Family/friends/Parents of schoolmates |
8507 (76.4%) |
|
Others |
120 (1.1%) |
|
Total N of parents |
11,141 |
|
Children’s demographics |
N (%) |
|
Child sex |
|
|
Boys |
7,311 (50.5%) |
|
Girls |
7,157 (49.5%) |
|
Child school grade |
|
|
Kindergarten |
4,832 (33.4%) |
|
P1 – P3 |
6,764 (46.8%) |
|
P4 – P6 |
2,872 (19.8) |
|
Total N of children |
14,468 |
[1] The Facebook page of the Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong.
[2] Emails were sent successfully to 1,044 kindergartens and 517 primary schools, inviting eligible parents to participate in the survey.
[3] This survey recruited parents to fill in an online public survey through social media and schools. The survey results only represent the views of the parents who participated in the survey.
[4] Parents were asked to fill in this part of the survey for each child aged five or above attending kindergarten or primary school. Total number of children: 14,468.
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For media enquiries, please contact Dr. Eva Lau Yi-hung from the Department of Early Childhood Education (Tel: 2948 8258 or email: evalau@eduhk.hk).