More than a quarter of young children eligible for COVID-19 shots went unvaccinated over parental worries, data show. Mothers and fathers were concerned vaccines had unknown side effects, said the Public Health Agency..“Monitoring parental attitudes is essential to predict expected vaccine uptake and to guide education and awareness efforts to promote vaccination,” said an Agency report. It found 26% of children under 12 who were eligible for COVID shots did not get one..According to Blacklock's Reporter, when asked why, a majority of their parents said they worried “not enough research on the vaccine has been done in children.” Most also expressed “concerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and side effects,” said the report 2022 Childhood COVID-19 Immunization Coverage Survey..Findings were based on questionnaires with 10,536 parents nationwide. The Health Agency paid $249,281 for the research by Advanis Incorporated..The Department of Health on Nov. 19, 2021 authorized a Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for children aged five to 11. A department report acknowledged COVID infections involving young children were insignificant. “Outbreaks in school and child care settings remain small in size,” said the report Update On COVID-19 In Canada: Epidemiology And Modeling..Approval of the vaccine for children under 12 followed a month-long review of data submitted by the manufacturer. Neither the Public Health Agency nor any other federal panel recommended mandatory immunization of young children..“There are parts of the country that are still under-vaccinated,” Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer, told reporters at the time. “We do know parents who are unvaccinated. It is probably going to be quite difficult to convince them their kids need to be vaccinated.”.“Most school and child care outbreaks involving youth have been small,” said Tam. “If your objective is to reduce serious outcomes the key focus remains the old age groups, the other higher risk populations.”.“Vaccination of household members can help prevent spread to young children and subsequent introduction into schools,” said Tam. “COVID-19 cases among children most often do not involve severe illness.”.In-house research by the Privy Council Office found most Canadians, including those who were vaccinated by choice, opposed vaccine mandates for people of any age. “There was a concern about potential discrimination based on vaccination status,” said an Oct. 29, 2021 report Canadians’ Views..“They felt moving in this direction was in direct contravention of Canadians’ right to choose,” said the report. “Some felt their personal choice in this regard should be respected,” it added.
