The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant shift in parental views on vaccination, with approximately half of parents surveyed citing concerns about vaccine side effects, a government report suggests.
The report from the Public Health Agency of Canada on vaccine uptake said the pandemic “yielded a large shift in Canadians’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards vaccinations.”
Half of those surveyed (50 percent) agreed with the statement: “In general I am concerned about the potential side effects from vaccines for children.” Nineteen percent said they “strongly agreed” with the statement.
The Feb. 6 report, first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter, found there has recently been a “high prevalence” of hesitancy towards both COVID-19 vaccines and regular vaccinations among certain populations. It said monitoring of parental attitudes is needed to “predict expected vaccine uptake and to guide education and awareness efforts to promote vaccination among children issued from these specific populations.”
Eighty-eight percent of parents surveyed said they were “generally in favour” of vaccines for diseases like polio, measles, and mumps. Seventy percent said their children had received all recommended vaccine doses, while 55 percent said their children took flu shots.
When the parents of children who were not fully vaccinated were asked about their reasoning, 24 percent mentioned “concerns about safety risks” while 22 percent said they did not consider the vaccine necessary, and 14 percent said they were not confident in its effectiveness.
A total of 35 percent reported being reluctant to have their children receive a yearly flu shot. Forty-three percent said they were worried about the vaccine’s effectiveness, 38 percent mentioned possible side effects, and 19 percent said they didn’t trust vaccine-related information.
The findings were drawn from questionnaires completed by 5,113 people across Canada.
Vaccine uptake among Canadians has been in focus in recent months after an uptick in measles cases across Canada. Health Canada has reported 2,515 cases across the country so far this year, including 354 cases from May 11 to 17. The agency reports that 82 percent of these cases have been in unvaccinated individuals, while 2 percent had one dose, 2 percent had two or more doses, and 13 percent had an unknown vaccination status.
An Angus Reid survey from May 29 found that 69 percent of those surveyed said vaccination should be mandatory for a child to attend daycare or school, while 25 percent said it should be left up to parents. Those with kids currently in their household were more likely to say it should be left up to the parent to decide, while those without kids in the household were the most likely to say vaccination should be mandatory.
In 2024, a total of 55 percent favoured mandatory vaccination and 38 percent said it should be up to parents, compared to 2015 when 63 percent of parents wanted mandatory vaccination and 25 percent wanted it to be the parents’ choice.
The recent Angus Reid survey also found that 30 percent of Canadians said there is a “real risk of serious side effects from these vaccinations.” Conservative supporters were more likely to say this (50 percent) than Liberal voters (11 percent) and NDP supporters (16 percent).
The United States Food and Drug Administration recently announced it would limit its approval for updated COVID-19 vaccines to older adults and younger people with underlying medical conditions. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also announced last week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would no longer be recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women.
