A study published in the Journal of Child Neurology (September 2021) found of the families surveyed, more than 28% believed that toxins in vaccines may are to blame for their children’s ASD, and as a result, are nearly 12 times more likely to be vaccine-hesitant than those who did not attribute their children’s ASD to vaccines.
While there has not yet been a significant amount of research among families of ASD children specifically regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, the concern Hope For Three shares with its service provider constituents is the families they serve are often reluctant to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19. Given the recent surge with the new Omicron variant, Hope For Three believes now, more than ever, it is vital families are sufficiently educated and hopefully convinced to have their child(ren) vaccinated. Reaching thousands of families who have children with ASD in our service area will likely be a daunting task.
To be as effective as possible in our outreach, pending funding, H43 has secured the commitment of Emily Hotez, Assistant Professor at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. As it happens, Dr. Hotez was one of four authors of the eClinicalMedicine journal article referenced above and has designed a training program for service providers for individuals with I/DD regarding the effective promotion of COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Hotez has generously agreed to provide this training via Zoom for Fort Bend County ASD service providers for a $1,000 honorarium.
Through its Family Assistance Resource Support (F.A.R.S.) program, Hope For Three makes direct payments to ASD service providers for economically disadvantaged Fort Bend County families of ASD children so they can access timely and vital interventions for their children. We also refer anyone who requests information to resources for ASD services. Hope For Three has a vast network of autism service providers who collectively serve thousands of families. We will work with Dr. Hotez to make the service provider training program relevant and specific to our local network of providers. Then in collaboration with community partners such as Access Health, Hope For Three will promote the program directly to our provider network, with a virtual “live” version and a recorded one to allow providers to take the training at a time/date convenient for them within a one-month window. Our hope is that by training the providers, they, in turn, will promote the importance of COVID-19 vaccination to a minimum of five client families each (with an estimate of four family members each) – effectively reaching up to 1,000 families or 4,000 individuals.
In addition to being able to serve their clients/patients better, incentives for service providers to participate in the training are opportunities to obtain CME/CEU credits and a stipend of an Amazon gift card (valued at $30) upon successful completion of the course. To qualify both for the CME/CEU and gift cards, attendees must prove registration and the newly gained knowledge in the form of an electronic survey. We will follow up with attendees within two months after their attendance to determine how they implemented their knowledge to enlist the participation of their patients/clients in having their child(ren) with ASD vaccinated for COVID-19. Ultimately, the long-term impact we hope to attain with this program is a higher vaccination rate for COVID-19 among families of ASD children, resulting in fewer and less-severe cases of the virus and a marked decrease in fatalities within Fort Bend County, Texas.
Deadline is May 17th, 2022
The Background
While Fort Bend County, Texas has a higher-than-average vaccination rate (72% of those five years old and older, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Data Tracker, COVID-19 remains a serious concern. In its COVID-19 dashboard, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reports that as of December 23, 2021, in Fort Bend County, there have been 10,610 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, 1,866 probable new cases, and 89 new fatalities.
A significant sub-group of Fort Bend County’s population are individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research conducted by local nonprofit Hope For Three (H43) of Fort Bend County’s school districts found that an estimated 5,000 school children across the County have been diagnosed with ASD. Authors of “Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccinations for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities” (The Journal eClinicalMedicine, February 1, 2021) found a growing consensus among researchers that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD)– including ASD – are particularly susceptible to COVID-19. These individuals demonstrate more severe illness, greater risk of hospitalization, and nearly twice the case fatality rates for adults ages 18-74 than those without I/DD.
Even though individuals with ASD represent a high-risk population, many families of ASD children remain hesitant to get vaccines for their children. A study published in the Journal of Child Neurology (September 2021) found of the families surveyed, more than 28% believed that toxins in vaccines may are to blame for their children’s ASD, and as a result, are nearly 12 times more likely to be vaccine-hesitant than those who did not attribute their children’s ASD to vaccines.
While there has not yet been a significant amount of research among families of ASD children specifically regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, the concern Hope For Three shares with its service provider constituents is the families they serve are often reluctant to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19. Given the recent surge with the new Omicron variant, Hope For Three believes now, more than ever, it is vital families are sufficiently educated and hopefully convinced to have their child(ren) vaccinated. Reaching thousands of families who have children with ASD in our service area will likely be a daunting task.
Peter J. Hotez Information
Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. is Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine and is the Co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics. He is also a University Professor at Baylor University, Fellow in Disease and Poverty at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University, Faculty Fellow with the Hagler Institute for Advanced Studies at Texas A&M University, and Health Policy Scholar in the Baylor Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy.
Dr. Hotez is an internationally recognized physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development. As co-director of the Texas Children’s CVD, he leads a team and product development partnership for developing new vaccines for hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and SARS/MERS/SARS-2 coronavirus, diseases affecting hundreds of millions of children and adults worldwide, while championing access to vaccines globally and in the United States.
In December 2021, Dr. Hotez led efforts at the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development to develop a low-cost recombinant protein COVID vaccine for global health, resulting in emergency use authorization in India.
- Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, DSc (hon), FASTMH, FAAP
Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine
Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular Virology & Microbiology
Health Policy Scholar
Baylor College of Medicine
- Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics
Co-Director, Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development
- University Professor, Baylor University
- Faculty Fellow, Hagler Institute for Advanced Study
Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs
Texas A&M University
- Baker Institute Fellow in Disease & Poverty and Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering, Rice University
Adjunct Professor, University of Texas, School of Public Health
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