Parents with children between the ages of five and 11 are deeply divided on whether they intend to vaccinate their kids against COVID-19.
A new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 27 percent of parents with kids in this age group say that they will pursue vaccination as soon as it's available.
Meanwhile, 33 percent say that they will wait to see how the vaccine is working.
Another five percent of parents say they will only get their children vaccinated if it is required - and 30 percent say that they will not get their kids vaccinated at all.
Parental concerns for vaccinating their younger children include possible unknown long-term side effects and missing work to bring their kids to vaccination appointments, according to the survey.
The new survey comes on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s advisory committee recommending Pfizer's lower-dose vaccine for this age group on Tuesday.
But this authorization may have limited impact because many parents - and even some experts - are not convinced that their children require vaccination against Covid.
More than one-third of parents with children in the 5-11 age range are not planning to get their kids vaccinated against Covid, an October survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found
Just 27% of parents with children ages 5-11 intend to get their kids vaccinated right away. Pictured: A teenager gets a Covid shot in Melbourne, Florida, May 2021
On Tuesday, the FDA's vaccine advisory committee voted to recommend a low-dose version of Pfizer's Covid vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11.
The FDA is expected to follow its committee's recommendation in authorizing this vaccine for young children.
Then, next week, a similar advisory committee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to discuss the authorization.
If all the regulatory steps proceed smoothly, the first children will be able to be fully vaccinated by Thanksgiving.
Yet many parents are not convinced that their children need a Covid vaccine, according to new polling data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
KFF's Vaccine Monitor has been providing monthly updates since the shots first became available in the U.S. with the October iteration focusing on vaccinations for children.
Researchers surveyed about 1,500 adults in the U.S., including different demographic groups for a nationally representative sample.
Among the parents of children ages five to 11 in the survey, under one-third - about 27 percent - said that they would get their kids vaccinated as soon as the shots were authorized.
A slightly larger number - 33 percent - said that they would 'wait and see' how well the vaccine worked among a larger number of children than those included in clinical trials.
Another 30
