January 6, 2022 – A brand new report shows large racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination of kids: Asian children are vaccinated most often and Black children are vaccinated least often.
Parents who didn't vaccinate their children reported safety concerns, were more prone to have friends and members of the family who weren't vaccinated, and were less prone to report that a health care provider had really helpful vaccination, in accordance with Results published by the CDC.
The results are necessary, 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 on account 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 those that 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 probably amongst those ages 12 to 17, those whose moms had a university degree, and people whose household income was $75,000 or more per 12 months. Households that reported often 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.”