New Idea for COVID-19 Vaccination of Children and Caregivers in Hesitant Communities

A new approach in pediatric practice provides a roadmap for COVID-19 vaccination of children and caregivers in hesitant communities.

Golisano Children’s Hospital (GCH) in Rochester, NY demonstrated success in vaccinating eligible patients as well as their caregivers by offering the vaccine to both during pediatric visits.

This provides a model for addressing vaccine hesitancy and barriers, according to an article published in the JAMA Pediatrics.

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“Pediatricians talk about vaccines with patients and families daily and have substantial experience discussing vaccine hesitancy and concerns,” wrote the study’s co-authors, Andrea Milne Wenderlich, M.D., Cynthia Rand, M.D., M.P.H., and Jill Halterman, M.D., M.P.H.

The Golisano Children’s Hospital Pediatric Practice serves more than 13,000 patients, most of whom are children from minority communities who reside in high poverty areas of Rochester.

Difficulties with transportation/taking off time from work, hesitancy related to long-standing mistrust from historically racist medical, research practices, and Concern about potential vaccine side effects are the main hurdles.

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To address these concerns, the GCH Pediatric Practice secured the resources to vaccinate pediatric patients as well as their caregivers during regular office visits as well as at several after-hours back-to-school clinics in August and September.

To implement this plan, they arranged additional staffing, adequate vaccine supplies, and encouraged all team members who interact with patients and families in the practice to ask about the COVID-19 vaccine.

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The practice found multiple positive outcomes with this approach. Caregivers reported appreciation for the convenience afforded by getting the vaccine while they were already at a visit for their child, and several stated that they felt greater comfort and trust getting the vaccine in the pediatric practice.

Many caregivers chose to get the vaccine in solidarity with their child who was also eligible to be vaccinated. Overall, more than 60 caregivers were vaccinated in the first month that the vaccine was offered, with more than 1,400 COVID-19 vaccine doses given to date.

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“This initiative showed that hesitancy can be addressed by providing a comfortable and accessible setting for caregivers to discuss the vaccine with a trusted provider,” said Halterman, who serves as division director of General Pediatrics.

Many parents were grateful for the opportunity to be vaccinated with their children, stating how they just felt more comfortable getting the vaccine here because they’ve been coming for years and have a trusting relationship with doctors.

The success of this program indicates that pediatricians could effectively address concerns in vaccine-hesitant communities, and it could serve as a model for other pediatric practices throughout the country.

Source-Medindia

TOP INSIGHT

Pediatric clinics have an opportunity to contribute to the effort to get as many eligible children and caregivers vaccinated to limit the COVID-19 infection spread.