One in five children have parents who are worried about vaccines and may affect future vaccination campaigns

Dr. Henry Wu, an associate professor of infectious diseases at Emory University, said, “Many people are very worried about injecting potentially foreign substances, such as preservatives, into their bodies. This is very unnatural. That’s what it is. ” Atlanta medicine that was not involved in the study.

“Ironically, vaccines are really a way to train your body to fight off the infection naturally,” said Wu, who heads the Emory Travelwell Center.

“Vaccines are the best way to go. Imagine what happens when one of these viruses really gets sick, goes to the hospital and injects all sorts into your body,” Wu said. Stated.

Public health officials are concerned that vaccine hesitation will affect parents’ willingness to allow their children to be vaccinated against Covid-19 when safe and effective vaccines are available. I am.

First use of new model

Santibanez and her team said it was the first report on the prevalence of vaccine repellent in parents of children aged 6 months to 17 years using a study module developed by the center.

The question was designed to measure concerns about all types of childhood vaccination, not just the flu vaccine. Vaccine hesitation was defined as “a state of mind that refrains from suspicion or decision regarding vaccination.”

Studies have shown that parents who are more concerned about the number and side effects of vaccines are more educated and more likely to personally know who has experienced the side effects of the vaccine. .. They also tended to say that their child’s doctor was not considered “the most reliable source of information about vaccines.”

Vaccine-disliked parents were also more likely to give birth to children under the age of 6 or to be parents of three or more children. Studies have shown that those parents are more likely to be concerned about the long-term side effects of the vaccine.

However, parents of the highest income groups are less likely to hesitate about the vaccine or worry about long-term side effects.

Responses to vaccine concerns vary widely from state to state. For example, only 12.9% of Vermont’s parents are “somewhat very hesitant” compared to 25.4% in Mississippi.

The report also compared the number of children vaccinated against influenza in 2019 with the degree of parental concern about the vaccine. Children of parents who dislike the vaccine were 26% less likely to be vaccinated against the flu than children of parents who were not concerned about the safety of the vaccine.

“But 34% to 47% were vaccinated against the flu, even among the children of parents who reported hesitating the vaccine,” the report said.

Historical concerns

The report found that the most hesitant about the vaccine, as well as concerns about vaccination schedules and serious side effects, were found among parents of black children.

Nearly 30% of black parents said they were hesitant about childhood shots and were concerned about potential side effects in comparison. Percentage of Caucasian parents worried about childhood shots (17.5%) and potential side effects (19.9%). Over 22% of black parents were worried about the number of shots their child would be given at one time, compared to 18.0% of white parents.

Harriet Washington, author of “Medical Apartheid: A Dark History of Experiments from the Colonial Times to the Present,” said recent social unrest, ethnic violence, police injustice, and distrust common to people of color. He said it contributed to the feeling.

Mr. Wu pointed out the behavior seen in his travel clinic, which is dedicated to providing vaccines to the public, and said there are major challenges ahead.

“From my experience running a vaccine clinic, I know that most people don’t intend to run to get the vaccine,” Wu said. “A lot of education is important. A lot of trust in the process is important. And we only fight false information. The amount of false information already there is huge and distrust of many public health agencies. It is also the amount of. Is high.

“Developing a Covid vaccine may be the easiest step,” Wu said. “You can get a 100% effective vaccine, but if you only get 30% of people, you can’t do much.”