A new study has shown that younger moms were more hesitant to get their kids vaccinated against Covid infection. Interestingly, men were more open to getting kids vaccinated than women across the country. The response of younger moms remained similar irrespective of their race and other differences.
Doctors feel that it is important to educate the parents about the importance of vaccinating kids during the pandemic. In the US, less than 50% of eligible kids are vaccinated, and this shows the amount of vaccine hesitancy among the parents. The study has further shown that young women around 20 years of age are showing a lot of hesitation in getting their kids vaccinated. On the other hand, men over the age of 34 showed less hesitancy towards vaccinating kids.
Younger Moms Are More Hesitant To Vaccinate Kids During The Pandemic
Many parents had kids during the pandemic, and they had to visit hospitals for checkups and delivery in the middle of the pandemic situation. This was scary, and they have suffered a lot of anxiety in the last two years. Apart from that, vaccines were initially not tested on pregnant women, which was also a major concern for young women. Several women hesitated to take the vaccines as there were rumors that it caused infertility.
After battling all these concerns, health authorities were finally able to provide substantial proof that vaccines are safe even for pregnant women. Interestingly, the first two waves did not affect children in a big way, and most people who got infected were above the age of 18. On the other hand, the Omicron variant has even infected many kids, and this is a cause of concern as several kids are not yet vaccinated.
The study has indicated that young mothers showed more vaccine hesitancy due to various concerns. Women younger than 30 years have shown the maximum hesitation to vaccinate their kids. When asked about the vaccinations, only 25% of them said they wanted to get the kids vaccinated shortly. This hesitancy decreased as the age of the participants increased. Women over the age of 40 were more open to vaccinating their kids. In this category, nearly 45% of the women were in favor of getting the vaccines for their children.
Men were more open towards the vaccination program, and they showed less hesitancy when it came to vaccinating the kids. The study said that it was unclear as to who took the decision regarding vaccinating kids at home. The hesitancy of young mothers would definitely have an impact on the overall vaccination numbers among kids.
It was also observed that those mothers who were more affected due to the pandemic showed more hesitancy towards vaccinating their kids. Doctors feel that it is important to reach out to such vulnerable people and educate them about the benefits of vaccinating kids during the pandemic. Experts say that the pandemic is far from over, and there is a lot of pain left in the system. The next few weeks will see a higher number of deaths due to Covid infections across the country. We are somewhere close to the Omicron peak in the US, and the next few weeks will be crucial for the health system.
In this critical situation, it is important for the parents to vaccinate their kids so that they can avoid severe outcomes due to the infection. Even though Omicron has been able to cause breakthrough infections, vaccines have protected people from serious outcomes in this wave.
