Two-thirds of Toronto parents ‘certain or somewhat likely’ to get young kids vaccinated against COVID-19, survey says
The majority of parents in Toronto — regardless of age or income — “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that they’re certain or somewhat likely to get their young children vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, according to a survey that finds 80 per cent of parents across the GTA are aware of the risks of getting their children vaccinated against the coronavirus.
That’s according to the latest poll from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) – an addiction treatment and support hub – among parents whose children are aged 23 to 36 months, and who live in the greater Toronto area. For this study, CAMH surveyed parents of children who have not received the recommended vaccinations against the coronavirus since March 1 2020.
“All kids should be vaccinated, but not all kids should be vaccinated the same way as one might vaccinate a child for chickenpox,” Dr. Maria Carnevale, CAMH’s Chief Public Health Officer, told Metro.
The study asked a simple but important question: “Of your children aged 15-36 months, how likely are you to get each of their vaccines listed below?”
In Toronto, 78 per cent of parents in this age group are “certain or somewhat likely” to get their children vaccinated because of their age and location.
Among that group, parents of younger children are more likely to get their children vaccinated than parents of older children. The majority (68 per cent) of parents in this age group who have children between 15 and 36 months in Toronto have their children vaccinated. Only 17 per cent of parents of older children are, however, certain or somewhat likely to get their children vaccinated.
These are parents who are either “very confident” or “confident” that they have their children vaccinated. A low confidence level reflects fewer questions asked, more uncertainty, or a lack of knowledge about the vaccine.
“It is important to know when a parent is very confident or confident that they will vaccinate a child. The information that CAMH is gathering allows us to understand if they are aware of the risks of the coronavirus
