More parents are now questioning their children's vaccinations than they did before the pandemic, according to a department of Health report..“Immunization rates have declined since COVID-19,” said the report.. Children getting vaccinated .“Respondents with some doubts and concerns about vaccinations pointed to a variety of reasons for their concerns,” wrote researchers. .“Key concerns included side effects (42%), vaccines causing allergic reactions (29%), not being tested enough (29%) and not trusting the pharmaceutical industry (28%).”.“One in five [20%] pointed to a lack of trust in the government and smaller proportions indicated concerns about too many vaccines within a short period of time [17%], a general requirement for too many vaccines [12%] or pointed to the pandemic, including COVID-19 vaccines (11%),” said the report Childhood Vaccination Marketing Campaign..Researchers said 23% of parents missed or delayed routine vaccinations for their children. Data show compared to pre-pandemic surveys in 2017:.72% of parents “accept all recommended vaccines” compared to 82% before COVID42% fear “vaccines cause side effects” compared to 24% before COVID31% said they are “more concerned” about vaccines compared to 14% before COVID19% “refuse or delay getting some vaccines” compared to 10% before COVID.Findings were based on questionnaires with 1,228 parents of children under six. The health department paid $112,794 for the survey by Ekos Research Associates..“The primary objective is to compare results and identify any changes in parents’ current state of awareness, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours with respect to vaccination,” wrote researchers. .“This provides valuable evidence regarding the effectiveness of ongoing public education campaigns.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Public Health Agency (PHA) data showed only 40% of children under 12 were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. .Mothers and fathers were concerned vaccines had unknown side effects and “not enough research on the vaccine has been done in children,” said the PHA..The PHA authorizing a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children under 12 two years ago acknowledged that uptake would be poor. .“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.”
