Gov. Phil Murphy is dropping the school mask mandate — and partly banking on more children getting vaccinated to raise COVID-19 immunity rates in classrooms. In a recent survey, called COVID States Project, researchers found about 59% of parents with children ages five to 11 felt confident they would get them vaccinated but only 54% of parents with kids under age five were of the same mind — assuming Pfizer’s two-dose regimen for the youngest children wins emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
“Within the first two weeks or so of the vaccine being available, there is a rush for the people who want it. And then it wanes very quickly,” said Montclair State University epidemiologist Stephanie Silvera. “A lot of parents have said, ‘Well, I don’t think COVID is as dangerous to my children as it is to older adults, so my kids don’t need to be vaccinated.’” Surveys also show a big political divide complicates the issue of child vaccination.
