Many Parents Won’t Vaccinate Their Kids. Here’s Why.
Even parents who are enthusiastic about the vaccines may not want their young children to be first in line.
The announcement that the Pfizer vaccine appears to work in children ages 5 to 11 is welcome news for many families across the United States. Parents who expect their children’s classrooms to soon be full of vaccinated students shouldn’t be overly optimistic, though. Many moms and dads will wait to get their kids immunized, if they do at all—and that includes those who are vaccinated themselves.
Although about two-thirds of adults and 83 percent of elderly Americans are fully vaccinated, the percentage of vaccinated adolescents is much lower. The Pfizer vaccine since May, of kids ages 16 and 17 are fully vaccinated. Only 42 percent of those ages 12 to 15 are.
