Vaccine hesitancy among mothers of under-five children in Coastal South India: a facility-based cross-sectional study [version 3; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: Vaccine hesitancy (VH) has been identified by the World Health Organization as one among the top ten threats to global public health. There is limited literature regarding VH from developing countries like India. Methods: In this facility based cross-sectional study, 172 mothers of under-five children were assessed regarding VH using the parental attitude towards childhood vaccination questionnaire (PACV). Results: The prevalence of VH was 3.4% (n=6). Only 7.6% (n=13) of the study participants had ever refused vaccination for their child and the most common reason cited for their refusal was that they thought it was not safe (n=6). Government health facilities was the place of routine immunization for 60.5% (n=104) participants. Health care providers (n =79, 46%) were the major source of information regarding vaccines. Conclusions: Our study highlights the presence of very low prevalence of VH in Mangalore compared to similar studies from India and other parts of the world. The limited number of participants had refused vaccination due to concerns related to vaccine safety.