Vaccine acceptance
In some contexts, individuals or groups may initially refuse, or be hesitant to accept, vaccination of pregnant women. An understanding of perceptions and acceptance of influenza vaccination among pregnant women, their families, their health-care providers and the public can be a relevant consideration when deciding on the introduction of vaccines. In particular, the awareness, attitudes, priority and prescribing practices of antenatal health-care providers have to be taken into account.
Section 3.8 of Principles and considerations for adding a vaccine to a national immunization programme provides advice on advocacy, communications and social mobilization measures.
A report by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy includes survey questions to assess the underlying determinants of vaccine hesitancy.
WHO commissioned a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study in Pune district (India) in 2012–2013 [23–26] to examine factors affecting urban and rural uptake of pandemic influenza vaccines in 2009. Subsequently, a protocol was developed not only to assess community awareness and acceptance but also clinicians’ awareness, priority and prescribing practices for influenza vaccination of pregnant women. The protocol has been tested in a pilot study to promote antenatal influenza vaccination (AIV) in Pune city. The approach is generic and adaptable for implementation in other settings. It involves assessing clinicians’ and community views about AIV, explaining the rationale for recommended policy to clinicians and discussing findings from a qualitative survey of women and spouses in their communities of practice. The impact of engaging clinicians is assessed by monitoring their clinic vaccination rates and comparison with control clinics without such engagement activities.
What is a good source for questions to assess the underlying determinants of vaccine hesitancy?
| A. The Global Advisory Commitee on Vaccine Safety report on Safety of Immunization during Pregnancy. | |
| B. WHO field guide for evaluation of influenza vaccine effectiveness. | |
| C. The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy. | |
| D. Principles and considerations for adding a vaccine to a national immunization programme. |
Answer C is correct.