Report: Over 60% of Parents Refuse to Update Children’s COVID Vaccine

Research suggests that over 60 percent of Canadian parents do not plan to keep their children up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccines, with 41 percent showing hesitancy.

A survey by the Public Health Agency of Canada revealed that only 17.5 percent of parents said they would definitely keep their children’s COVID vaccine status current, while 23 percent said they probably would.

28 percent stated that they definitely won’t keep their kids up-to-date, and 25.5 percent said they probably won’t. Additionally, 6 percent were unsure of their vaccine plans.

When asked about their hesitancy to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, 21 percent said they were very hesitant, 19.5 percent were somewhat hesitant, and 57 percent were not at all hesitant or not very hesitant.

Concerns voiced by parents about getting their children additional COVID-19 vaccinations included insufficient research, doubts about effectiveness, mistrust in vaccine-related information, and lack of discussion by their doctor.

The data also indicated that 42 percent of parents had declined an annual flu shot for their children, citing concerns about side effects, belief that the vaccine doesn’t work, worries about receiving a flu shot alongside another vaccine, and the perception that their child wasn’t at risk.

The findings from October 2024 were based on questionnaires with 11,258 parents across Canada, with the Public Health Agency paying $292,727 for the report by Advanis Inc.

The report noted that many parents expressed a likelihood of getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19 eventually, but were not in a hurry to do so. This sentiment arose from the belief that the virus was becoming less dangerous with each variant and that children faced low risks of complications.