![]() ![]() In response to this largely unexplained phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy toward younger children, our research conducted in the spring of 2022 investigated why. Alarmingly, this number then rose significantly to 35.4% by March 2022. However, in December 2021, the number of UK primary school pupils' parents who were unlikely to agree to their child having a COVID-19 vaccination was disproportionately high at 23.7% ( Office for National Statics/ONS, 2022). On the surface, the UK appears to be largely pro-vaccination, with 93% of UK adults and children over 12 years old having received a COVID-19 vaccination ( UK GOV, 2022). ![]() It is therefore important to understand why attitudes toward children may be different and it is the aim of this paper to address this important gap in the literature. However, this is not demonstrated clearly in official statistics, given that over 90% of adults have received a COVID-19 vaccination yet a significant third of parents are hesitant to vaccinate their primary aged children. Existing research suggests that parents who are generally supportive of vaccination programmes ( Montalti et al., 2021 Pan et al., 2021), and “believe” in vaccinations ( Carcelen et al., 2021), are more likely to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. As such, understanding parental perspectives regarding their children becomes extremely valuable in understanding vaccine intentions for families. Vaccine hesitancy for children in particular, is a significant concern, given that children can play a major role in coronavirus transmission in both home and school settings ( Pan et al., 2021). Consequently, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy on a national and international scale hinders global endeavors to combat the pandemic ( Evans et al., 2021). Our data provides original findings that will inform both policymakers and practitioners, building upon and extending the existing vaccination literature, furthering current debate and guiding future research.ĬOVID-19 vaccination programmes are part of a worldwide strategy for mitigating the long-term effects of coronavirus disease ( Szilagyi et al., 2020), and the success of such vaccinations are reliant upon high levels of uptake and administration. In the following article, we have identified a triangular relationship between government, media and interpersonal communication in shaping parental perspectives, leading to a mixture of both “pro-vax” and “anti-vax” attitudes in regards to the vaccination or non-vaccination of children. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews, this paper is able to reveal detailed qualitative insights into the thoughts of UK parents and their attitudes toward children's vaccinations that quantitative statistics are otherwise unable to show. Listening to parental perspectives regarding the decision-making processes for vaccinating this age group, becomes fundamental in understanding childhood vaccine intentions. Vaccine hesitancy, for children in particular is an important concern, given that children can play a major role in coronavirus transmission within both families and schools. Vaccination programmes are part of the global strategy for mitigating the effects of coronavirus disease, but their effectiveness is reliant upon high levels of uptake and administration. However, expressions of child vaccine hesitancy rose steeply in the UK at the start of 2022 with 35.4% of primary school parents saying they were unlikely to vaccinate their children. The guidance stated that parents of all children in this age bracket should be offered the chance to have their child vaccinated and that the procedure was particularly important for children who have health conditions that put them at high risk. In March 2022, the UK Health Security Agency and the National Health Service issued guidance for parents of children aged 5–11 concerning vaccinations. 2School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.1Institute of Childhood and Education, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds, United Kingdom.Carmen Clayton 1 * † Rafe Clayton 2 † Sultan Al-Azri 2 ‡ Ileyas Mogeh 2 ‡ Marie Potter 1 ‡ ![]()
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