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While the federal government considers authorizing a COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11 years old, a survey of parents shows many are in no hurry to get their kids vaccinated.
The Kaiser Family Foundation found only 27% of parents of children in that age group plan to get them vaccinated against COVID-19 “right away” once a vaccine is available.
Wanting to “wait and see” how the vaccine works are 33% of parents of children aged 5-11, the survey shows.
The survey reported that 75% of parents said they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about long-term effects, while71% are worried about side effects.
About 66% say they’re worried the vaccine could affect their child’s fertility, though the CDC says there’s no evidence the vaccines have that effect.
Economic concerns were an issue, with 35% of parents worried about having to take time off from work if their child suffered side effects from vaccination. About 25% said About25% said they’re worried about having to pay for the vaccine, though the vaccine is free.
Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the White House, says that if his three adult daughters were young, he’d get them vaccinated “in a second,” Axios reported.
Fauci said the vaccines are going to be safe for children.
“Even though the chances of [a child] getting sick and seriously ill are small — why do you want to take a chance of that with your child, when you can essentially protect the child by an intervention that is proven to be both highly effective and very safe?” Fauci said.
“I sure as hell wouldn’t want them to get COVID-19. I would vaccinate them in a second,” he said of his three daughters.
Federal health agencies are expected to authorize a vaccine for children aged 5-11 soon. An advisory panel to the FDA this week recommended approval of a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 5-11. Pfizer vaccines have already been authorized for kids 12 and up.
Sources
Kaiser Family Foundation. “1 in 4 Workers Say Their Employer Required Them to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine, Up Since June; 5% of Unvaccinated Adults Say They Left a Job Due to a Vaccine Requirement”
Axios: “Fauci: ‘I would vaccinate them in a second'”
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