Child and adolescent COVID-19 vaccination coverage by educational setting, United States

OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the setting of education for many children in the U.S. Understanding COVID-19 vaccination coverage by educational setting is important for developing targeted messages, increasing parents' confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, and protecting all children from severe effects of COVID-19 infection.

STUDY DESIGN/METHODS

Using data from the Household Pulse Survey (n = 25,173) collected from December 9-19, 2022, January 4-16, 2023, and February 1-13, 2023, this study assessed factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination and reasons for non-vaccination among school-aged children 5-11 and adolescents 12-17 by educational setting.

RESULTS

Among children 5-11 years, COVID-19 vaccination coverage was higher among those who received in-person instruction (53.7%) compared to those who were homeschooled (32.5%). Furthermore, among adolescents 12-17 years, COVID-19 vaccination coverage was higher among those who received in-person instruction (73.5%) or virtual/online instruction (70.1%) compared to those who were homeschooled (51.0%). Children and adolescents were more likely to be vaccinated if the parental respondent had been vaccinated compared to those who had not. Among children and adolescents who were homeschooled, main reasons for non-vaccination were concern about side effects (45.4-51.6%), lack of trust in COVID-19 vaccines (45.0-50.9%), and lack of trust in the government (32.7-39.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

Children and adolescents who were home-schooled during the pandemic had lower vaccination coverage than those who attended school in person, and adolescents who were home-schooled had lower vaccination coverage than those who received virtual instruction. Based on the reasons for non-vaccination identified in this study, increasing parental confidence in vaccines, and reducing barriers to access are important for supporting COVID-19 vaccination for school-age children.

Community cancer clinics: patients' perspectives

In response to the challenge of providing care for cancer patients closer to home, community chemotherapy outreach programs are being developed as part of regional cancer care organizations. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of cancer patients' experiences of receiving chemotherapy at community chemotherapy clinics. In total, 28 patients who had received chemotherapy at 13 community-based clinics were interviewed. Qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts revealed two prevalent themes. One theme, called "balancing gains and losses," reflected how patients considered and evaluated two dimensions when making decisions about where best to undergo treatment. The dimensions considered were quality of life versus biomedical expertise. The second theme, called "communication links," reflected patients' perceptions about the continuity of their cancer care. The results of the study suggest that the impact of the delivery of services on patients and their families needs attention.

Clinical oncology nurses' perceptions of research

Within the realm of oncology nursing, research has been an integral part in its development as a specialty practice. Yet despite the growing volume of published nursing research studies, little is known about how nurses working in oncology care settings perceive research. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to examine clinical oncology nurses' perceptions of research and to determine factors influencing their perceptions. Two hundred and eighty-three registered nurses providing cancer care to patients in 40 health care agencies across northern Ontario participated in the survey. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed by Alcock and colleagues (1990) which addressed nurses' perceived value of research, their role, interest and experience in research as well as the research climate of the agency. The findings showed that respondents valued nursing research and perceived a research role for staff nurses. However, the respondents did not perceive strong administrative or collegial support for nurses' involvement in research activities. In addition, the study results indicated that the clinical oncology nurses' perceptions of research were influenced by educational preparation.

Ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia evaluated with computed tomographic scanning. Effects of gender, age, and stage of illness

We evaluated ventricular-brain ratio with computed tomographic scanning in a sample of 108 DSM-III-diagnosed schizophrenic patients and 75 healthy normal volunteers. Significant differences were noted between the patients and controls, but our large sample size also permitted us to determine that the statistically significant difference was contributed primarily through the male patients. Ventricular enlargement occurs only in some schizophrenic patients. In this particular sample, only 6% of schizophrenics had ventricular-brain ratios greater than 2 SDs from the control mean, and 28% were 1 SD greater than the control mean. However, the corresponding figures for male schizophrenics were 19% and 43%, indicating that there is much less overlap between normal individuals and ill subjects in the male population. First-admission schizophrenic patients also had significantly greater ventricular enlargement than did their age-equivalent normal controls, suggesting that ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia may antedate the onset of symptoms. Examination of ventricular size in schizophrenics and normal subjects from a broad age range suggests that ventricular enlargement does not progress over time at a greater rate in schizophrenic patients than in normal subjects.

Epidemiology of premenstrual symptoms in a nonclinical sample. I. Prevalence, natural history and help-seeking behavior

A stratified sample of 996 nursing school graduates from 1963 to 1984 was surveyed by mail regarding menstrual cycle characteristics. The 730 respondents reported an 87% overall lifetime prevalence of premenstrual symptoms. When the symptoms were categorized according to severity, only 3.2% of the respondents reported severe symptoms. Symptomatic women used diet change (24.6%), exercise (41.8%) and vitamins (18.9%) as self-help measures. Seventeen percent sought advice from a physician. Drug use was common; 22% were using a drug for symptoms at the time of the survey. Despite the common use of treatment, few women reported a significant work impairment. These findings support the conclusion that premenstrual symptoms are common but do not usually interfere with functioning.

Tritiated imipramine binding to platelets in manic subjects

We studied 21 patients with bipolar affective disorder and 25 healthy controls in order to determine if tritiated imipramine binding to platelets distinguished the manic from the depressed phase of bipolar disorder. Depressed patients had a significantly lower mean Bmax value (754 +/- 149 fmole/mg protein) than the manic and control groups (1112 +/- 248 and 1237 +/- 201 fmole/mg protein, respectively), which did not differ from each other. These differences could not be attributed to differences in age, sex, menopausal status, the presence of psychotic features or medication history among the subject groups. These findings confirm that decreased imipramine binding to platelets is a state marker for bipolar depression and not a trait marker of bipolar disorder.

Tritiated imipramine binding distinguishes among subtypes of depression

We studied 45 depressed patients and 20 healthy controls in order to determine if tritiated imipramine binding distinguished among subtypes of primary major depressive disorder. Mean (+/- standard deviation) values for maximal concentration of tritiated imipramine binding sites on platelet membranes were significantly lower in patients with bipolar and familial pure depressive disease (754 +/- 149 and 870 +/- 241 femtomoles [fmole]/mg of protein, respectively) than in patients with depressive spectrum and sporadic depressive disease (1,236 +/- 241 and 1,188 +/- 325 fmole/mg of protein, respectively), neither of which differed from healthy controls (1,238 +/- 201 fmole/mg of protein). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that these differences could not be attributed to differences in age, sex, Hamilton Rating Scale score, presence of psychotic features, hospitalization status, or medication history. This association of a biological finding with distinct clinically defined subtypes of depression may lead to a classification of affective disorders useful in further research.

Intracortical glutamate injection produces helpless-like behavior in the rat

Acute injection of glutamate into frontal neocortex of naive rats produced a subsequent deficit in escape performance behavior that was similar to that produced by exposure to uncontrollable shock. The behavioral deficit was dose-related. The behavioral deficit was similar in time-course to that produced by 15 min (but not 40 min) of exposure to learned helplessness induction. Unlike learned helplessness produced by exposure to inescapable shock, the behavioral deficit produced by intracortical glutamate injection was not prevented by chronic intraperitoneal administration of imipramine.