January 6, 2022 – A recent report shows large racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination of youngsters: Asian children are vaccinated most continuously and Black children are vaccinated least continuously.
Parents who didn't vaccinate their children reported safety concerns, were more prone to have friends and relations who weren't vaccinated, and were less prone to report that a health care provider had really useful vaccination, in line with Results published by the CDC.
The results are essential, the researchers said, because people who find themselves black, Hispanic or Latino have an increased risk of contracting, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19. According to the CDC, that is because of “underlying conditions that affect health, including socioeconomic status, access to health care, and occupational exposure to the virus, such as among frontline, essential, and critical infrastructure workers.”
“Increasing COVID-19 vaccination coverage for all children and adolescents requires increased public health efforts,” the researchers wrote. “To increase overall coverage and eliminate disparities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage among children and adolescents, providers and trusted ambassadors should provide culturally relevant information and vaccination recommendations.”
The results of the survey showed that amongst children aged 5 to 17:
- 73.4% of Asian respondents were vaccinated
- 49% of Hispanic or Latino respondents were vaccinated
- 49% of respondents of various ethnicities and people who identified as “other” were vaccinated
- 45% of white respondents were vaccinated
- 44.7% of black respondents were vaccinated
The results come from the CDC's National Immunization Survey. The survey included responses from 94,838 households with children ages 6 months to 17 years on vaccination status from December 2020 to September 2022. Responses were collected from September 2021 to September 2022.
Child vaccination was almost certainly amongst those ages 12 to 17, those whose moms had a school degree, and people whose household income was $75,000 or more per 12 months. Households that reported continuously wearing masks in public were also more prone to report that their children had been vaccinated.
CDC: “Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage among children and adolescents ages 5–17 years and parental intention to have their children vaccinated – National Immunization Survey – Child COVID Module, United States, December 2020–September 2022.” “Risk for COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death by race/ethnicity.”