A psychologist has broken down just what causes parents to be hesitant to vaccinate their children. COVID-19 has been a long haul, and it has changed the lives of almost everyone across the world, especially for children. Parents have been waiting for the world to get back to normal, for their children to be able to be safe at school and have playdates with their friends. A vaccine has been the hope that everyone has been looking for, and the Pfizer vaccine is currently available for those aged 12 and up, with the hope of a vaccine for younger children coming soon.
However, just because there is a vaccine available, doesn’t mean that parents are going to let their children receive it. There are parents out there who are concerned about their child receiving the vaccine, and they are often labeled as “conspiracy theorists” by those around them.
According to Psychology Today, one psychologist is talking about what constitutes vaccine hesitancy in parents. Sara Gorman, Ph.D., MPH is speaking about vaccine hesitancy in parents and what determines it. While vaccine hesitancy among adults has decreased, it is still prevalent in parents.
According to Invisibly, a survey was done of over 1,200 parents. While the majority (53%) did report that they are going to vaccinate their children, only 26% said that they would do it right when the vaccine is available. A third of parents said they had no intention of giving their children the vaccine. One of the biggest reasons why parents are hesitant is because they do not believe that COVID-19 is a threat to their child’s health and if they just follow the protocols, their children will not have a high chance of contracting the virus.
While the cases of children contracting COVID-19 have been mild, there have been rare but serious cases. According to Dr. Fauci, herd immunity can be reached once children receive the vaccine.
Sara also stated that there are parents who believe that adverse effects of the vaccine are more likely to occur in children and that it has become a risk-versus-benefit situation for parents.
The last reason Sara states why parents are hesitant is because children are viewed (in general) as “vulnerable.” This means that they hold a higher safety standard for children than they do for themselves or other adults. This means that parents want more information about the vaccine before giving it to their children. They have the need to “know more.”
Sources: Psychology Today, Invisibly