About 32 percent of parents said that it is unlikely their children will get the influenza vaccine this year, a new poll shows.
The survey, conducted by Ipsos for the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., polled 2,027 parents about getting the flu vaccine for their children, ages 2 to 18 years.
About 68 percent of parents said they will likely or very likely have their child get the flu vaccine this year. Seventy-three percent of parents of kids between 2 and 4 years said they intend to vaccinate their kids against the flu, compared to 65 percent of parents of teenagers between 13 and 18 years.
Among the 32 percent of parents who say their child is unlikely to get flu vaccine this year, the most common reasons include concerns about side effects from the vaccine (42 percent) and the belief that the vaccine is unnecessary (40 percent) or ineffective (32 percent).
Slightly more than one-third of parents (34 percent) said they believe that having children get the flu vaccine is more important this year compared to other years, while 8 percent said it is less important.
The survey also found that only 44 percent of parents say their child's regular healthcare provider strongly recommends that their child get flu vaccine this year.