Poll says parents balking at vaccines for kids

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – More people are getting vaccinated against COVID in Alabama. The increasing numbers is good news in the fight against the pandemic. According to a recent poll, Axios-Ipsos, parents said they will get the shots but are hesitating getting shots for their children.

That poll said 48% of parents indicated they would not be getting vaccinations for their children under the age of 18 years old. That is not good news to fight the pandemic. DCH officials reported they are having a hard time filling slot for those 16 years old’s who became eligible for vaccinations on Monday. Health leaders are worried that if a large number of teenagers are not getting vaccinated it could slow the recovery from the pandemic.

At this time, no vaccine is okayed for those under 16 years old but testing trials are underway. For those 16 and 17 year old’s Pfizer vaccine is tested and approved.

Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said his message to parents is the vaccines are safe.

“I can tell you vaccinations is the only way we can get back to normal in our state by having these disease transmissions go down. We are not likely to do that if we don’t have a significant number of teenagers vaccinated.” Harris said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease doctor said he expects vaccines will be approved in time to get kids vaccinated before the next school year. The question remains if enough parents will be on board with that idea to get it done. The state health department continues to launch campaigns to deal with vaccine hesitancy.