More Than 40% of Parents Won't Get Their Young Children Vaccinated Against COVID, Survey Finds

Vanessa Etienne
·2 min read
89
Paediatrician doctor preparing coronavirus vaccination and giving the vaccine to a small baby.
Paediatrician doctor preparing coronavirus vaccination and giving the vaccine to a small baby.

Getty

A new survey reveals that a high percentage of parents in the United States are reluctant to get their young children vaccinated against COVID-19.

On Tuesday, Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) published the results of a recent survey showing that 43% of parents said they would "definitely not" get their children under 5 years old vaccinated against COVID.

Additionally, 27% of parents said they would wait and see how the vaccine works for other children before getting it for their own, while 13% of parents said they would get their young children vaccinated against COVID only if it were required for school or childcare.

Previous KFF data showed that one in five parents of young kids said they would get them vaccinated "right away." But as of July 20, only 2.8% of the approximately 19 million children in this age group have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, according to the foundation.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

child vaccine
child vaccine

Getty A child receiving a vaccine

RELATED: Pfizer's 3-Dose COVID Vaccine Is 80% Effective in Kids Under 5

Last month, a Food and Drug Administration panel voted unanimously to authorize use of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines for children under 5 to six months old.

In the 21-0 vote, members of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee all voted "yes" to the question, "Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine when administered as a 2-dose series (25 micrograms each dose) outweigh its risks for use in infants and children 6 months through 5 years of age?," CNN reported.

Voters did the same, according to the outlet, in regard to the question of, "Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine when administered as a 3-dose series (3 micrograms each dose) outweigh its risks for use in infants and children 6 months through 4 years of age?"

Days later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also signed off on COVID vaccines for the age group.

The CDC first approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in children ages 12 to 15 back in May 2021. The vaccine received the same approval for children ages 5 to 11 six months later in November.