One in 3 parents don't plan on having kids vaccinated against seasonal flu this year, poll finds

One in 3 American parents do not have plans to get their kids vaccinated for the flu this year, according to a new poll released Monday.

 

The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health also found that of those parents who don't plan to have their child get the flu vaccine, 1 in 7 said they are keeping their child away from healthcare sites due to concerns about COVID-19. Fewer than half of parents said their child's regular healthcare provider strongly recommends flu vaccination this year.

 

The poll results come amid growing concerns of new surges in COVID-19 cases just as the U.S. heads into the fall season when influenza cases typically begin to pick up.

 

While reminders about the flu shot are commonplace this time of year, the reminders have taken on a new urgency as officials across the industry ramp up messaging to providers and patients alike about the increased value of getting a flu shot this season in particular.

 

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new data showing a precipitous decline among vaccination, primary and preventive services rates for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program recipients since the start of the pandemic in March.

"This year, it's more important than ever to get the flu shot," CMS officials tweeted a few days later.

RELATED: CDC director warns of major public health complications if public doesn't take flu and COVID-19 seriously

Last month, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, M.D., warned at a medical association event about the potential dual threat of flu and COVID-19. “This fall and winter could be one of the most complicated public health times we have with the two coming at the same time,” Redfield said during an event organized by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The agency is scrambling to ensure there are enough supplies of—and public confidence in—the flu vaccine in advance of the potential dual threat of flu and COVID-19, he said.

Monday, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) issued a release recommending all Americans older than six months get a seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible. "“Given the current pandemic, it is especially important this year that people take steps to avoid getting and spreading the flu virus, and the most important step is getting a flu vaccine now,” said AANP President Sophia Thomas in a statement. “Symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 can look similar—fever, cough, body aches—so we encourage everyone to take flu prevention seriously. As with COVID-19, we want to keep the flu from spreading to our most vulnerable citizens, as well as to the health care providers and essential workers who are already stretched thin during the pandemic.”