2 in 3 Parents of Young Kids Plan to Get Them Vaccinated, Poll Shows

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A recent poll shows that two-thirds of parents of children ages 5-11 plan to get them vaccinated against COVID-19 when the federal government approves the vaccine. 

The poll said 43% of parents of kids under 12 said they're "very likely" to get their kids vaccinated when the vaccines are approved for that age group, with 24% somewhat likely, 11% not very likely, 15% not at all likely, and 8% saying they don't know.

Ipsos conducted the poll among 1,014 adults from Sept. 22-28. This was before Pfizer/BioNTech formally asked the federal government on Oct. 7 to authorize its vaccine for children 5 to 11. The Pfizer vaccine is already authorized for kids 12 and up.

The poll showed that parents' vaccination status influenced their opinions about their children's risk of catching COVID-19. 

"Three-quarters of parents are at least somewhat worried that their child could get COVID-19," the Ipsos poll reported. "Parents who are vaccinated themselves are more concerned than those who are not: 42% of vaccinated parents say they are 'very worried' their child could get COVID-19, compared to 29% of unvaccinated parents."

Parents who are "not very likely" or "not at all likely" to get their kids under 12 vaccinated give these reasons: 63% are concerned about side effects, 57% worry about long-term effects to their child's health or fertility, and 54% worry the vaccines were developed too quickly. Twenty-three percent said they don't trust vaccines.

But some anti-vax parents of kids ages 12-18 said these things could change their minds: whether schools require vaccinations (25%), whether the FDA grants full approval to the vaccine (23%), and whether a person in their household is high risk (23%).

Among parents of children ages 5-18, about 60% of parents support vaccination requirements for in-person attendance. Vaccine requirements for school attendance are opposed by 56% of parents who consider themselves Republican, 51% of independents, and 23% of Democrats.

Sources:

Ipsos: "PUBLIC POLL FINDINGS AND METHODOLOGY Two in three parents of kids ages 5-11 plan to vaccinate their child when it's approved." "

Twitter: @pfizer, Oct. 7, 2021.

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Cite this: 2 in 3 Parents of Young Kids Plan to Get Them Vaccinated, Poll Shows - Medscape - Oct 22, 2021.