Case Series of Vaccine Hesitancy Encountered at the Pediatric Emergency Department

Vaccine hesitancy (VH) is a significant concern, although its specific characteristics remain unclear. Moreover, strategies to shift vaccine-hesitant parents' attitudes toward immunization are not yet well-defined. Pediatric emergency department (ED) physicians frequently encounter patients who are inadequately vaccinated due to parental VH; however, it is challenging to allocate sufficient time during ED visits to provide comprehensive vaccination education. Our institution operates a dedicated outpatient clinic that provides vaccine education for parents with vaccine hesitancy identified in the pediatric ED. The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of vaccine-hesitant individuals presenting to a pediatric ED in Japan and to assess the effectiveness of our vaccination education clinic. We found 78 vaccine hesitancy cases in the patients who visited the pediatric ED. Among them, 31 (40%) visited our vaccination education clinic. The majority (29/31, 94%) of parents who attended our vaccination education clinic replied that they gained a positive view of vaccination. The pediatric ED is a useful location to identify VH patients and parents. Vaccination education by pediatric infectious diseases specialists may be useful in changing parental attitudes towards immunization.