The new national survey also found that about 23 percent of Canadians say they plan to skip the COVID-19 vaccine for their youngest children.
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Half of Canadian parents say they plan to vaccinate their youngest children as soon as the COVID-19 vaccine is available to them.
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Results of a Angus Reid Institute survey released Monday found that half of parents are eager to vaccinate their five- to 11-year-old children against the new coronavirus as soon as Health Canada approves a vaccine.
However, a significant minority, 23 percent nationwide, said they plan to have their children skip the vaccine.
That sentiment is less prevalent in British Columbia, where just 15 percent said they will forgo the vaccine for their elementary school children, the report said, though it noted that this finding should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size.
Rejection was higher in Quebec at 30 percent, despite the province’s high adult vaccination rate. Respondents in the prairies aren’t interested either: In Alberta, 29 percent plan to say no to the children’s vaccine, while 26 percent plan to decline the vaccine in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
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Nationally, about 18 percent said they plan to vaccinate their children, but are in no rush and plan to wait a while. Another nine percent said they are not sure.
There are currently no COVID-19 vaccines licensed for children under the age of 12 in Canada. BC Get vaccine portal now allows parents to register younger children for the COVID-19 vaccine in case one is approved in the future.
Pfizer-BioNTech has already submitted preliminary data from its trial for younger children to Health Canada, with a formal submission expected in mid-October.
The Angus Reid Institute survey, which he commissioned, also delved into Canadians’ attitudes toward a booster shot.
More than 60 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to take a third dose when it becomes available, while 20 percent said they would wait a bit before taking a third dose.
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Enthusiasm for a booster shot was correlated with age – Older people are more likely to say they plan to get a booster shot once it’s available. About 75 percent of people 65 and older are looking forward to the booster shot, while only 47 percent of people ages 18 to 24 plan to get one.
About nine percent of vaccinated Canadians say they don’t want a booster shot.
Booster injections have not been widely available in Canada. In British Columbia, booster shots have started to roll out for residents of long-term care facilities and for those whose bodies did not elicit a strong immune response due to a health condition or certain medications. The Health Ministry had said it is reviewing the data to determine whether the general population would benefit from a booster shot.
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As Canada continues to grapple with the Delta-driven fourth wave, the survey found that a large portion of Canadians are pessimistic and things will go back to pre-pandemic times.
About 37 percent said Canada will never be the way it was before February 2020, nearly double the 20 percent who held that view last December, less than a year after the pandemic.
Almost 60 percent, however, have a more optimistic view. Thirty percent anticipate a return to normal after 2022, while 28 percent believe this will happen within six months to a year.
Personal concerns about contracting COVID-19 are also increasing compared to earlier this summer.
About 57 percent of those surveyed said they are very or moderately concerned about getting sick from the new coronavirus. Interestingly, those who were vaccinated reported higher levels of personal concern, at 60 percent, while only 35 percent of the unvaccinated are concerned.
The Angus Reid Institute survey was conducted online from September 29 to October 3 among a representative random sample of 5,011 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of +/- 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Reference-vancouversun.com