Prevalence and Factors associated with Caregivers' Hesitancy in Immunizing Dependent Older Adults with COVID-19 Vaccines: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations were proven to prevent infection, hospitalization, and mortality. However, some caregivers may be hesitant to provide COVID-19 vaccine to ones under their care. Our study aimed to evaluate factors associated with caregivers' hesitancy to immunize the dependent older adults with COVID-19 vaccines. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional telephone survey about vaccine hesitancy among caregivers of dependent older patients in a geriatric clinic, Ramathibodi hospital. Caregivers were contacted and interviewed by the trained interviewers from June 20 to July 25, 2021. Results: : The study had a total of 318 participants. Mean age of participants was 55.9 year. The majority of participants were the patients' offspring (86.5%). 39.9% of participants were hesitant to provide the older adults with COVID-19 vaccines. Factors associated with caregivers' vaccine hesitation were caregivers who sometimes felt uneasy, anxious, agitated, sad, or worried when they practiced social distancing, caregivers with COVID-19 vaccine refusal, and vaccine manufacturers. Conclusion: The prevalence of the caregivers' hesitancy to allow the older adults to get the COVID-19 vaccine was relatively high. Some factors were associated with higher vaccine hesitancy among the caregivers. The findings may aid in endorsing COVID-19 immunization in dependent older adults.