Two Thirds Of Parents Support Vaccinating Their Children And School Vaccination Requirements

A new poll found that two-thirds of parents with children between the ages of 5 and 11 plan to get their kids vaccinated against COVID-19 when it becomes available for this age group.

The organization responsible for the survey of 1,014 adults with children, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project, looked to gauge just how parents felt about the idea of getting their young children vaccinated. Currently, the U.S. government has not approved any vaccine for children in the 5-11 years of age group, but officials predict that it could become available by the winter season.

According to the results, 60% of parents are in favor of schools requiring proof of vaccination to attend classes in person. This idea has been contentious nationwide as states differ in whether or not they allow schools to require public health measures like masks or vaccinations for children. Several states are fighting in the courts to prevent schools from imposing these measures, citing opposition from parents who say they should have the ultimate say over their children’s health.

What the survey results capture is a diverse set of considerations and variables that are at play for parents in vaccination decisions for their children.

One of the key variables it shows is a relationship between a parent’s vaccination status and their feelings about vaccinating their children. Among parents who were vaccinated, 78% said they support requiring children to get a COVID-19 vaccine to attend classes in person while only 30% of unvaccinated parents said the same.

While 77% of parents who responded said that they were at least "somewhat worried" that their child could get COVID-19, 42% of vaccinated parents say they are “very worried” their child could get COVID-19 compared to 29% of unvaccinated parents. This also differed depending on the age of their child with 42% of parents of children younger than 12 expressing serious concern versus 32% of those with teens in the age range of 16 to 18.

Concern was also divided along racial and geographic lines as well.

A higher total of parents who were people of color expressed concern about their children coming into contact with the virus. Of this, 49% of Black parents and 47% of Hispanic ones rated their concern as high as opposed to only 32% of white parents who said the same. Throughout the pandemic, it was repeatedly shown that Black and Hispanic Americans were disproportionately more exposed to COVID-19 and suffered higher rates of infection.

Geographically, parents from the South expressed higher concern than their peers in the Northeast, Midwest and West.

Beth Battaglino, a Co-Convener of the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project, said that her organization was "encouraged to see a majority of parents" who plan to vaccinate their children, but added that it also showed "there is clearly more work to be done" to address parents' concerns.

“These promising survey results highlight a strong desire among parents to protect their school age children from COVID-19 but also the need for increased efforts for continued education about the benefits of vaccination,” said Linda Mendonça, the President of the National Association of School Nurses which aided with the survey.