Reflexões sobre a não vacinação e hesitação vacinal contra COVID-19 em adolescentes brasileiros: uma revisão narrativa

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate reasons and factors that influence non-vaccination/vaccine hesitancy against COVID-19 among Brazilian adolescents (10-19 years old) described by national and international scientific production. Vaccination against COVID-19 began in 2021, in all age groups, but vaccination of adolescents in relation to other vaccines that are part of the vaccination schedule, has been lower. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the reasons for non-vaccination or vaccine hesitancy in this segment. To answer this question, a narrative review of national and international scientific production from 2020 to 2024 on non vaccination/vaccine hesitancy against COVID-19 among Brazilian adolescents (10-19 years old) was conducted. The search was carried out in the Pubmed and BVS databases for articles published in English and Portuguese. In the end, six articles that met the inclusion criteria were selected, five were cross-sectional studies and one was a scoping review; five were national in scope, and two with local samples. The factors/aspects identified in these studies for non-vaccination and vaccine hesitancy were low education or socioeconomic status of parents/guardians and adolescents, age of guardians (with younger people being more likely to not get vaccinated), beliefs that children and adolescents are at lower risk, religious beliefs associated with conservatism, concerns about side effects and lack of safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, and belief in fake news about the risks of the vaccine. Systematizing the reasons or factors for non-vaccination in adolescents identified in studies that have been produced in the Brazilian context can support the development of health communication and information strategies aimed directly at this audience and their families, considering the different sociocultural realities.