Two-thirds of Toronto parents ‘certain or somewhat likely’ to get young kids vaccinated against COVID-19, survey says
Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
In Toronto, the proportion of parents surveyed who were “certain or somewhat likely” to get their children a mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 was just over two-thirds, the latest survey by Public Health Ontario found.
Toronto’s two largest doctors — Dr. David Fisman and Dr. James C. Smith — were asked by the agency to take part in the survey. The results are published in the journal Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics.
The agency said it surveyed 9,000 Canadian parents across four provinces: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.
“Given COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Canada’s most vulnerable people, especially youth in our cities, our data suggests that all residents will be in need of safe and effective treatments to help them avoid severe or potentially life-threatening illness as soon as possible,” said chief medical officer of health Bonnie Henry in a release.
Dr. David Fisman, a Toronto pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, told CityNews that parents who didn’t choose to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19 were likely concerned about the vaccine-induced immuno-suppression effect.
Parents who “chosen” were not the same as those who followed through on their vaccination choices.
“Many parents think (receiving the vaccine) would be a big inconvenience to what they do,” Dr. Fisman said. “The fact is, they could still get COVID and get the vaccine, so they’re not fully immunized.”
The province also surveyed about 2,000 parents in Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg about whether or not they’d be willing to vaccinate their children. The agency said it had gathered the results across all provinces and territories.
Some parents who said they didn’t approve of the idea of vaccinating children said it was more complicated for them to get children immunized given the coronavirus situation, Dr. Fisman said.
“But the vaccine is 100 per cent effective,” he said
