Childhood vaccine hesitancy in the post–COVID-19 context in Brazil: communication challenges
1
Department of preventive and social medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A3926
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Vaccine refusal, distrust in vaccines, anti-vaccine movements, and the resulting decline in vaccination coverage have been observed in several countries in both the Global North and Global South since the 1990s. In Brazil, the post–COVID-19 context has intensified this trend. This study aimed to understand the specificities of trust and distrust in vaccines and childhood vaccination in the post–COVID-19 context, analyzing how different communication strategies influence the perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and decision-making processes of parents and caregivers.
METHODS:
This qualitative study was based on focus groups conducted with parents and caregivers residing in different areas of the municipality of São Paulo. Twelve focus groups were held, considering social markers such as socioeconomic status, income, educational level, gender, self-declared race/skin color, and political-ideological orientation. The analytic-interpretive process of the empirical material followed the steps of thematic analysis with an intersectional sensitivity.
RESULTS:
A total of 98 parents and caregivers participated across the 12 focus groups, with a predominance of women, reflecting the central role of women in childcare. The group displayed socioeconomic, territorial, racial, and educational diversity, with wide variation in schooling, income, and self-declared race/skin color, as well as different religious practices and forms of access to health services, predominantly through the Unified Health System (SUS). Political-ideological heterogeneity was also observed, with participants from different electoral spectrums, allowing for an analysis of how distinct social and contextual markers influence perceptions, trust, and decision-making processes related to childhood vaccination.
CONCLUSIONS:
The study findings indicate that trust and distrust in childhood vaccination are complex, socially situated phenomena shaped by multiple social markers. Parents’ and caregivers’ decisions are not based solely on access to scientific information but are strongly influenced by prior experiences, trust-based relationships with professionals and institutions, and the communicative configurations to which they are exposed.
Vaccine refusal, distrust in vaccines, anti-vaccine movements, and the resulting decline in vaccination coverage have been observed in several countries in both the Global North and Global South since the 1990s. In Brazil, the post–COVID-19 context has intensified this trend. This study aimed to understand the specificities of trust and distrust in vaccines and childhood vaccination in the post–COVID-19 context, analyzing how different communication strategies influence the perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and decision-making processes of parents and caregivers.
METHODS:
This qualitative study was based on focus groups conducted with parents and caregivers residing in different areas of the municipality of São Paulo. Twelve focus groups were held, considering social markers such as socioeconomic status, income, educational level, gender, self-declared race/skin color, and political-ideological orientation. The analytic-interpretive process of the empirical material followed the steps of thematic analysis with an intersectional sensitivity.
RESULTS:
A total of 98 parents and caregivers participated across the 12 focus groups, with a predominance of women, reflecting the central role of women in childcare. The group displayed socioeconomic, territorial, racial, and educational diversity, with wide variation in schooling, income, and self-declared race/skin color, as well as different religious practices and forms of access to health services, predominantly through the Unified Health System (SUS). Political-ideological heterogeneity was also observed, with participants from different electoral spectrums, allowing for an analysis of how distinct social and contextual markers influence perceptions, trust, and decision-making processes related to childhood vaccination.
CONCLUSIONS:
The study findings indicate that trust and distrust in childhood vaccination are complex, socially situated phenomena shaped by multiple social markers. Parents’ and caregivers’ decisions are not based solely on access to scientific information but are strongly influenced by prior experiences, trust-based relationships with professionals and institutions, and the communicative configurations to which they are exposed.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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