According to a new poll, only 27% of parents in the United States said they will vaccinate their children aged five to eleven years against Covid-19 “right away” if a vaccine is approved for this age group.
The Kaiser Family Foundation polled 1,519 adults in a nationally representative random digit dial telephone sample from October 14 to 24.
According to Xinhua news agency, a third of parents said they will “wait and see” how the vaccine works before having their 5-11 year olds vaccinated, while 30% said they “definitely will not” get their younger children immunised.
The main concerns of parents are the vaccine’s unknown long-term effects and serious side effects, with two-thirds concerned that the vaccine will affect their children’s fertility in the future.
On Tuesday, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisors voted to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged five to eleven.
The benefits of the vaccine, according to the advisors, outweigh the risks for use in this age group.
Clinical trials conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech show that the vaccine is both safe and effective against symptomatic Covid-19 in children.
Based on the advice of its advisors, the FDA will consider formalising the vaccine.
If approved, it would be the first Covid-19 vaccine for younger children.
