Vaccines coming soon for kids, but not all parents are on board

    The coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech is expected to be approved for use in children ages 12 to 15 any day now. Actually, it may have been approved by the time you read this. Great. Now, getting the vaccine to those children might be a whole different issue.

In a survey published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, three in ten parents of children ages 12-15 said they would get their child vaccinated as soon as a vaccine is available. One quarter of parents surveyed said they had a “wait and see” approach, 18% planned to get their child vaccinated if their school requires it, and nearly a quarter said they will definitely not get their child vaccinated. Parents’ plans for their children close match their own intentions for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

SUNY has no vaccine mandate for returning students, but state Sen. Brad Hoylman has just introduced a bill that would create that mandate.  Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat from the 27th Senate District, said in an interview with Politico that “We’re following the science, given this legislation will only kick in once this vaccine is fully FDA approved and would protect the most vulnerable, as well as have New York stand up for all these institutions of higher education who made this a requirement for returning students.” 

Read about the likely approval for children ages 12 to 15 HERE.  Read about parental reluctance to have their children vaccinated HERE