Attitude of parents towards seasonal influenza vaccination for children in Saudi Arabia

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to assess attitudes, beliefs, and behavior towards seasonal influenza vaccination for children among parents in Saudi Arabia and to correlate parental demographic characteristics with hesitancy. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the Family Medicine clinics linked to a tertiary referral hospital in Riyadh. Inclusion criteria were: being a parent, having a child aged six months to 14 years whom is following at that hospital, and living in Saudi Arabia. The Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) survey was used for data collection. Demographic questions were added. RESULTS: The number of participants was 388. Out of these, 298 (76.8%) parents were not hesitant for their child to get vaccinated. Whereas 90 (23.2%) parents were hesitant. Parental gender and age were the only demographic factors found to have a statistically significant impact on their hesitant behavior. For the influenza season of 2018–2019, 148 (38.14%) children received the influenza vaccine. The most common reason for not receiving it was the belief that the vaccine is not necessary. While 25 (27.78%) of the 90 parents who were hesitant allowed their child to get vaccinated, 123 (41.28%) of the 298 parents who were not hesitant allowed their child to get vaccinated, creating a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0255). CONCLUSION: Despite the overall positive attitude and low hesitancy, the vaccine uptake was low. Improving access, education about the importance of the vaccine, advocacy from doctors, and correction of misconceptions about it will facilitate an increase in the uptake.