49% of Parents of Kids 5-11 Reject COVID Shot for Them

Nov. 24, 2021– As vaccinations amongst kids ages 5-11 choose up steam, a major variety of mother and father say they are not looking for their youngsters vaccinated.

In a ballot of WebMD readers, 49% of these responding who’ve kids in that age group say they are not looking for their little kids to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

On Nov. 2, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, endorsed an company advisory panel’s suggestion that kids 5-11 be vaccinated with the Pfizer pediatric vaccine. That determination expanded vaccine suggestions to about 28 million kids within the United States.

Vaccinations among the many not too long ago eligible 5- to 11-year-olds have steadily elevated after a considerably gradual begin. At first, the tempo was behind that of the 12- to 15-years-olds by means of the primary week of eligibility, however it has since closed the hole, based mostly on information from the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker.

Altogether, simply over 3 million kids ages 5-11 have obtained no less than one dose, which is 10.7% of that age group’s complete inhabitants.

The CDC says that the Pfizer vaccine was greater than 90% efficient in stopping COVID-19 an infection in kids 5 to fifteen years previous, and that the immune response in kids ages 5-15 equaled the immune response in individuals 16 to 25 years previous.

Among individuals general within the WebMD ballot, 56% mentioned they have been assured or considerably assured that the vaccine is protected for that age group.

Among adolescents and younger adults, uncommon circumstances of myocarditis and pericarditis have been reported. According to the CDC, “[I]n one research, the chance of myocarditis after the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech within the week following vaccination was round 54 circumstances per million doses administered to males ages 12-17 years.”

Known and potential advantages of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the dangers, together with the attainable danger for myocarditis or pericarditis, the CDC says.

Concerns Also Among Doctors, Nurses

A companion ballot of medical doctors and nurses on Medscape, WebMD’s sister web site for well being care professionals, additionally discovered vital hesitation to the youngsters’s vaccines.

Among medical doctors who’ve kids in that age group, 30% of respondents mentioned they’d not need their kids to be vaccinated; 9% have been not sure. For nurses and superior follow registered nurses (APRNs), 45% mentioned they didn’t need their youngsters to get the COVID-19 vaccine; 13% have been not sure. Among pharmacists, 31% mentioned they’d not get them vaccinated and 9% have been not sure.

How Safe Is the Vaccine?

Clinicians have been requested how assured they have been that the vaccine is protected for that age group, and 66% of physicians, 52% of nurses/APRNs, and 66% of pharmacists mentioned they have been considerably or very assured.

Across clinician sorts, girls edged out their male counterparts on confidence within the vaccine’s security: 71% vs. 65% amongst medical doctors, 55% vs. 45% amongst nurses/APRNs, and 68% vs. 60% amongst pharmacists.

Among each medical doctors and nurses, youthful medical doctors (beneath 45) tended to have better confidence within the vaccine’s security: 72% vs 64% (medical doctors), 54% vs 51% (nurses/APRNs), and 71% vs 59% (pharmacists).

The distinction in confidence was clear between vaccinated and unvaccinated medical doctors. All of the unvaccinated medical doctors who responded to the ballot mentioned they’d no confidence within the vaccine for teenagers. Among unvaccinate