Here’s How Many Parents Will Vaccinate Their Kids Against The ‘Tripledemic’—Covid, Flu And RSV

Topline

Most parents plan to get their children vaccinated against the flu and RSV, but less than half will seek out coronavirus vaccines, according to a new survey—as more parents than ever opt out of vaccinations and the updated Covid shots face weak demand.

Key Facts

The study surveyed 5,035 parents across the country between September 27 and 28 about their intentions to vaccinate their children against the “tripledemic”—a simultaneous rise in Covid, flu and RSV cases that has caused hospitals to become overwhelmed.

Around 41% of parents intended to get their children vaccinated against Covid, 63% against the flu and 71% against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), according to the study published in Vaccine.

Trust in health institutions, concerns about the disease and good outcomes with previous vaccines were the top reasons parents planned to vaccinate their children.

Some of the main concerns cited by parents who said they wouldn’t vaccinate their kids include worries about side effects, vaccine efficacy and safety, hesitancy because the kid already had the disease and belief their kids don’t need to be vaccinated.

Almost 8% of children in the U.S. have an updated Covid vaccine, and about 42% of kids have received an updated flu vaccine, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Data on RSV vaccination rates in children is not yet available, but a shortage of infant RSV shots due to high demand and a hefty out-of-pocket cost of $500 has made it difficult for kids to get vaccinated.

Contra

More parents than ever before are opting out of childhood vaccinations for measles, polio, tetanus and other diseases, according to a report by the CDC. There was an uptick in exemptions for school-aged children in 40 states, and 3% of kids entering kindergarten had one for the 2022 to 2023 school year, which is the highest rate ever recorded in the U.S. Around 90% of all exemptions were for nonmedical reasons like religion and philosophy, according to the CDC, though it didn’t specify any further. Idaho had the most kindergarten exemptions of any state (12.1%), followed by Oregon (8.2%) and Utah (8.1%). Around 30% of people in 2022 thought parents should be able to decide whether to vaccinate their school-aged children, up from 16% in 2019, a survey by health policy research organization KFF found. Experts believe the uptick of vaccine exemptions among children is related to skepticism of the updated Covid vaccines approved for use earlier this year—though health agencies have found the coronavirus vaccines to be safe and effective. Public perception of the importance of childhood vaccines declined in 52 out of 55 countries studied during the Covid pandemic, UNICEF reports.

Crucial Quote

“From a public health perspective, vaccine hesitancy has a ripple effect that extends beyond the individuals involved, even though they might tragically become ill or even die from a preventable disease,” Simon Haeder, the study’s author and an associate professor of health policy and management at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, said in a statement.

Big Number

22,513. That’s how many Covid-related hospitalizations were reported the week of December 2, up almost 18% from previous weeks, according to data from the CDC. There were 9,746 recorded RSV cases—down about 350 from the previous week of Thanksgiving—and there was a 6.8% increase in flu cases.