Vaccination for child clients and employees in St Louis childcare agencies: Vaccine uptake and policies versus parents' perceptions

Background Little is known about childcare agency staff vaccination requirements, parents' perceptions of these requirements, or vaccine uptake in these populations. Methods A questionnaire was administered to St Louis parents and childcare agency staff in fall of 2014. The χ2 tests compared staff's versus parents' uptake of hepatitis A, pertussis, and seasonal influenza vaccines. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine individuals being fully immunized (ie, having received influenza, hepatitis A, and pertussis vaccines). Results Overall, 351 parents and staff from 23 agencies participated (response rate, 32%). One-third of staff (34.4%, n = 33) and parents (37.6%, n = 96) were fully immunized. Parents and staff were equally likely to have received the influenza vaccine (48.8% and 47.3%, respectively), but more staff received the hepatitis A vaccine (85.3% vs 67.5%, χ2 = 11.0, P