“Only 39% of children 5 to 11 and 68% of those 12 to 17 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to 92% of adults.
Nearly half of the parents believe that the potential long-term risks of vaccinating their child outweigh the risks of not vaccinating, according to USC Dornsife research.
One in five say they’d feel a greater sense of responsibility if their child became sick after being vaccinated than if they remained unvaccinated.”
I think this psychology of passive versus active approach to risk is at the core of the problem, even though only 20% of parents are admitting/aware of it. I wrote about this suspicion (for KevinMD) when the mRNA vaccines were first approved for kids:
“It is always harder to act on a proposition than to take a passive stance. If something bad happens because we took an action, it feels like we are responsible. No parent wants to hurt their child, and even if there is a tiny chance of causing harm it is understandable why up to a third of American parents don’t plan to get their kids vaccinated voluntarily.
But unfortunately we are just as responsible for not acting. Seeing your child get sick, and worrying how bad it might get, and worrying about who else is about to get sick, should compel us to take control and choose the less risky proposition.”
Excellent post thank you for this! It bravely and thoroughly goes into the nuances and weeds, and provides a lot of evidence based reassurance.
Here’s what a recent USC article states:
https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/why-low-covid-19-vaccination-among-children/
“Only 39% of children 5 to 11 and 68% of those 12 to 17 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to 92% of adults.
Nearly half of the parents believe that the potential long-term risks of vaccinating their child outweigh the risks of not vaccinating, according to USC Dornsife research.
One in five say they’d feel a greater sense of responsibility if their child became sick after being vaccinated than if they remained unvaccinated.”
I think this psychology of passive versus active approach to risk is at the core of the problem, even though only 20% of parents are admitting/aware of it. I wrote about this suspicion (for KevinMD) when the mRNA vaccines were first approved for kids:
“It is always harder to act on a proposition than to take a passive stance. If something bad happens because we took an action, it feels like we are responsible. No parent wants to hurt their child, and even if there is a tiny chance of causing harm it is understandable why up to a third of American parents don’t plan to get their kids vaccinated voluntarily.
But unfortunately we are just as responsible for not acting. Seeing your child get sick, and worrying how bad it might get, and worrying about who else is about to get sick, should compel us to take control and choose the less risky proposition.”