Table 4.
Reasons for not vaccinating children and adolescents, by educational setting, United States, Household Pulse Survey, December 9, 2022 – February 13, 2023
| Overall | In person instruction a | Virtual instruction b | Homeschool c | Other/none | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| n (%) | % (95%CI) | % (95%CI) | % (95%CI) | % (95%CI) | |
| Reasons for not vaccinating children 5-11 years | |||||
| Concern about possible side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine for children | 2,137 (55.5) | 56.7 (52.8, 60.5) | 60.1 (41.9, 78.3) | 51.6 (42.7, 60.5) | 46.4 (35.4, 57.4) |
| Plan to wait and see if it is safe and may get it later | 842 (23.7) | 23.7 (20.8, 26.5) | 26.4 (11.3, 41.5) | 19.4 (11.1, 27.6) | 26.7 (16.1, 37.2) |
| Not sure if a COVID-19 vaccine will work for children | 277 (8.8) | 8.6 (6.6, 10.5) | d | 13.5 (6.4, 20.6) | d |
| Don’t believe children need a COVID-19 vaccine | 1,138 (29.0) | 29.4 (26.7, 32.1) | d | 33.1 (25.8, 40.5) | 23.9 (15.7, 32.2) |
| The children in this household are not members of a high-risk group | 1,240 (30.6) | 32.4 (29.4, 35.4) | d | 27.6 (19.1, 36.0) | 15.2 (10.9, 19.4)* |
| The children’s doctor has not recommended it | 489 (14.2) | 14.2 (11.3, 17.1) | d | 16.5 (8.9, 24.1) | 11.9 (5.5, 18.2) |
| Parents or guardians in this household do not vaccinate their children | 140 (4.2) | 3.3 (2.3, 4.2) | d | d | d |
| Don’t trust COVID-19 vaccines | 1,301 (36.0) | 35.5 (32.6, 38.5)* | 39.0 (21.9, 56.1) | 45.0 (37.1, 52.9) | 32.7 (22.7, 42.8) |
| Don’t trust the government | 948 (27.4) | 26.2 (23.1, 29.4)* | d | 39.2 (29.8, 48.6) | 27.7 (18.9, 36.5) |
| Other | 403 (9.6) | 9.5 (7.7, 11.3) | d | 14.7 (8.2, 21.1) | 7.8 (3.6, 12.0) |
| Reasons for not vaccinating adolescents 12-17 years | |||||
| Concern about possible side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine for children | 1797 (51.9) | 52.5 (48.6, 56.3) | 56.8 (40.2, 73.4) | 45.4 (35.4, 55.5) | 52.4 (41.5, 63.3) |
| Plan to wait and see if it is safe and may get it later | 456 (15.2) | 15.3 (12.8, 17.9) | d | 14.2 (7.2, 21.2) | d |
| Not sure if a COVID-19 vaccine will work for children | 208 (5.1) | 5.4 (4.1, 6.7) | d | d | d |
| Don’t believe children need a COVID-19 vaccine | 1026 (28.0) | 30.1 (26.5, 33.7) | 18.9 (8.4, 29.4) | 26.7 (19.8, 33.5) | 18.4 (10.3, 26.5) |
| The children in this household are not members of a high-risk group | 1142 (29.4) | 29.4 (26.6, 32.2) | 35.1 (20.2, 49.9) | 28.4 (20.6, 36.2) | 28.2 (15.0, 41.3) |
| The children’s doctor has not recommended it | 321 (10.8) | 11.3 (8.6, 13.9) | 14.8 (2.6, 27.0) | 7.1 (2.6, 11.7) | 9.7 (3.6, 15.8) |
| Parents or guardians in this household do not vaccinate their children” | 173 (6.9) | 7.1 (4.7, 9.5) | d | 9.2 (3.6, 14.8) | 4.1 (0.8, 7.3) |
| Don’t trust COVID-19 vaccines | 1572 (46.6) | 46.6 (42.6, 50.6) | 57.2 (40.6, 73.8) | 50.9 (40.2, 61.6) | 38.7 (24.8, 52.6) |
| Don’t trust the government | 1060 (32.1) | 30.7 (27.2, 34.1) | 44.0 (28.4, 59.6) | 32.7 (22.8, 42.5) | 36.0 (22.0, 50.1) |
| Other | 418 (11.1) | 10.8 (8.9, 12.7) | d | 10.5 (5.8, 15.2) | 12.3 (7.3, 17.3) |
Abbreviations: CI=confidence interval
Note: All percentages are weighted.
p<0.05 in a t-test comparing each reason for not vaccinating children or adolescents for a given educational setting (e.g., in-person instruction) compared to children or adolescents who were homeschooled.
In-person instruction was defined as anyone who received in-person instruction from a teacher at their school in the last 7 days
Virtual instruction was defined as anyone who did not receive in-person instruction and received virtual/online instruction from a teacher in real time, learned on their own using on-line materials provided by their school, or learned on their own using paper materials provided by their school in the last 7 days
Homeschool was defined as anyone who did not receive in-person or virtual instruction and learned on their own using materials that were not provided by their school in the last 7 days
Estimates were suppressed due to RSE > 30%