Physician Practices, Attitudes, and Challenges Related to Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination in the United States

To assess physician practices, attitudes, and challenges related to pediatric COVID-19 vaccination in the United States.

An online survey of 102 pediatricians and 104 family medicine physicians who serve pediatric patients in the United States was conducted during August 15-16, 2023, using an opt-in internet survey panel.

The majority (86.3%) of physicians reported that their office had ever offered COVID-19 vaccination, and among those that had ever offered it, 91.7% reported currently offering it to some or all pediatric patients aged 6 months-17 years old. Slightly more than half (54.8%) of physicians strongly agreed and 32.0% agreed with the statement, "I believe COVID-19 vaccine is generally safe for children," and about 84% strongly agreed or agreed that benefits of pediatric COVID-19 vaccination outweighed possible risks and side effects of the vaccine and inconveniences. The top 3 identified challenges of offering COVID-19 vaccination to pediatric patients were 1) lack of demand from parents (48.8%), 2) different vaccine products/formulations for different age groups (37.1%), and 3) large minimum package size/large number of doses per vial (32.9%). Slightly more than 80% strongly agreed or agreed with the statement, "I believe that pharmacies can serve as an important place for COVID-19 vaccination of school-aged children."

Most physicians reported offering the COVID-19 vaccine to their pediatric patients but reported that low parental demand posed challenges to achieving high pediatric COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Although physician confidence in COVID-19 vaccine safety was fairly high overall, improved confidence may increase the likelihood of a strong physician recommendation, leading to higher parental demand and uptake.