A majority of parents with school-aged children eligible to be vaccinated support schools requiring masks but oppose vaccine mandates for students, according to a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The poll found that 58% of parents with kids between 12 and 17 years old are against vaccine requirements for in-person classes.
The poll also found that 54% of parents would still oppose a vaccine requirement even if the Food and Drug Administration fully approved the vaccines.
On the flip side, 41% of parents said their child has already been vaccinated and another 6% said they plan to get their kids vaccinated soon.
Similarly, about 40% of parents with kids under 12 say they will “wait a while to see how it is working” before getting their kids vaccinated.
About 25% of parents of eligible teens said they would be more likely to get their kid vaccinated if their employer offered them paid time off to do so.
Parents back masking:
The poll found that 63% of all school-aged children support requiring unvaccinated students and staff to wear masks in school.
But the poll also found a significant partisan divide on the issue, with 69% of parents who identify as Republican opposing a mask requirement.
Parents of unvaccinated children were also evenly split on the issue.
The poll comes as school districts around the country consider mask requirements when school starts. Some Republican governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis and Texas’ Greg Abbott have barred schools from requiring masks even as caseloads in both states explode. Some big city school districts are openly defying the governors’ orders.
Deepening vaccine divides:
The poll also found that whether parents got a vaccine largely depends on various economic, demographic, and political factors.
For example, 76% of parents in households that earn over $90,000 per year say they’ve been vaccinated compared to just 47% of parents that earn under $40,000.
While nearly eight in every ten parents with a college degree have been vaccinated, only 50% of parents without a high school degree have gotten the shot.
Hispanic parents are more likely to be vaccinated (67%) compared to white parents (63%) and Black parents (54%).
More than eight in ten Democrats have gotten the shot compared to 62% of independents and 46% of Republicans.
