Assessing parental intention to vaccinate against COVID-19, influenza, and RSV in the United States in late 2023

Vaccine hesitancy is a substantial public health threat. We used a national survey to query parents about their intention to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, influenza, and RSV in the fall and winter 2023-2024. We found that about 40% of parents intended to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, 63% against influenza, and 71% against RSV. Intention to vaccinate was consistently correlated with concerns about the disease, trust in health institutions, and previous vaccinations. Women showed lower intentions for COVID-19 and influenza. For COVID-19 and RSV, intentions were higher for those who thought vaccines were important. Concerns about autism were negatively associated for COVID-19. Liberals showed larger intentions for COVID-19. Major reasons for hesitancy include concerns about safety, necessity, and lack of information. The large number of unvaccinated children will likely lead to large numbers of excessive disease in children as well as exert large negative externalities on society at large.