Two-thirds of Toronto parents ‘certain or somewhat likely’ to get young kids vaccinated against COVID-19, survey says
One-third of parents of children under 16 believe vaccinating their children against COVID-19 will have an effect, while another third say it would not have any effect, a new survey has found.
There were also different levels of concern around whether or not parents have ever had symptoms of the respiratory virus, which has so far killed more than 3,000 people in the province.
This is the first time that a survey has assessed the public’s views around whether or not vaccinating children against COVID-19 will have an impact, and the first to ask whether parents have ever had symptoms of the virus.
Researchers at the University of Toronto conducted the four-question survey of 1,058 parents between April 2 and 23. Parents were asked to choose one of the following answers: 1) Vaccinate my child; 2) not vaccinated my child; 3) have no opinion; 4) vaccine my child; 5) not vaccinated my child.
The results were then categorized into categories where “certain or somewhat likely” and “undecided” were the top responses for both parents who have never had symptoms of COVID-19 and those who have had symptoms. As a result, 45 per cent of parents with no symptoms of COVID-19 were certain or somewhat likely to vaccinate their young children against the virus, while 51 per cent of parents who had previously tested positive for the virus were certain or somewhat likely to do the same.
Parents who had been tested for COVID-19 were also more likely to be certain or somewhat likely to vaccinate their children against the virus. Sixty-three per cent of parents who had been tested for COVID-19 were certain or somewhat likely to vaccinate their children against the virus, while only 38 per cent of parents who have not been tested were certain or somewhat likely to vaccinate their children.
Forty-two per cent of parents who had ever had symptoms of COVID-19 were certain or somewhat likely to vaccinate their children against the virus, while 37 per cent of parents who