Many Parents Won’t Let Young Children Get COVID-19 Vaccines: Survey

A healthcare worker fills a syringe with Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in a file image. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

If a COVID-19 vaccine is cleared for young children, most parents won’t get their children vaccinated, at least right away, according to a new survey.

Just 18 percent of parents with children under 5 years old said they would get the child vaccinated right away if one or more vaccines were authorized for the age group.

In contrast, 27 percent said they will definitely not get their children vaccinated. Another 11 percent said they would only if vaccination were required, presumably by schools and/or daycares.

The remaining respondents said they will wait and see before deciding.

The survey was conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation between April 13 and April 26. The results of a sample of 1,889 adults were released on May 4. The margin of error was plus/minus 3 percentage points.

Americans under 5 are the only age group that cannot get a COVID-19 vaccine. While young children are at little risk from COVID-19, particularly if they are healthy, some parents and healthcare providers have pressured U.S. regulators to clear one or more vaccines for the age group.

Both Moderna and Pfizer are angling for emergency clearance for their vaccines for children as young as 6 months.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to consult with its expert advisory panel in June on the prospect of granting one or both of the requests.

Moderna says its vaccine will be ready in June, provided it gets clearance. Pfizer is now planning to submit data on the youngest age group in June.

Moderna recently announced clinical trial results it said showed the vaccine was safe and effective in young children, though some experts questioned the portrayal of the results. In late April, Moderna officially filed for emergency authorization, and on Wednesday said its submission with be completed in approximately two weeks.

“We’re very confident,” Dr. Paul Burton, Moderna’s chief medical officer, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” in a recent interview.

Pfizer initially hoped to submit data in 2021 but had to expand its two-dose trial to a three-dose one after the primary regimen failed to elicit an adequate immune response in all the young children.

The companies’ vaccines have proven much less effective than originally advertised in adults, providing little to no protection against the spread of the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19.

Though the shots have held up better against severe disease, health authorities now recommend one or two boosters for most age groups.

Early studies on the effect of boosters show their effect also wanes over time, particularly against infection.