Tensions between social acceptance and individual reticence to COVID-19 vaccination: the perspective of fathers and mothers residing in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

The decline in vaccination coverage associated with the population’s mistrust of vaccines has been defined as a global health threat. Adopting a qualitative approach centered on the social significance of vaccines, we conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers and fathers in the City of Buen...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daniela Bruno, Andrés Pereira, María Florencia Mena, Flavia Demonte
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto de Salud Colectiva, Universidad Nacional de Lanús 2022-12-01
Series:Salud Colectiva
Subjects:
Online Access:http://revistas.unla.edu.ar/saludcolectiva/article/view/4258
Description
Summary:The decline in vaccination coverage associated with the population’s mistrust of vaccines has been defined as a global health threat. Adopting a qualitative approach centered on the social significance of vaccines, we conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers and fathers in the City of Buenos Aires between July and December 2020. We describe and analyze their knowledge and the arguments used to justify their acceptance or reluctance to vaccinate their children in the context of COVID-19. The results show that the studied population possesses knowledge about vaccines and accepts them as a preventive practice. Nonetheless, it was possible to identify a broad spectrum of attitudes towards vaccination, including more reticent positions based on concerns regarding their safety, adverse effects, and the need to apply them for eradicated diseases, proposing vaccination as an optional and complementary practice to other care practices. Arguments are organized under the assumption of individual and moral responsibility for health care, an expression of the current sociocultural and health backdrop.
ISSN:1669-2381
1851-8265