Childhood Vaccinations

Toronto, ON -- Canadian parents clearly value childhood vaccinations, considering them at least as important as a proper diet and exercise for keeping children healthy a new poll released today shows. And, parents are very concerned about vaccine-preventable diseases - considering many of them very serious conditions and ones that their children are likely to contract if not immunized against them. The result is that, for the most part, parents are ensuring their children get the standard vaccinations - and many are getting recently introduced vaccines and/or are interested in learning more about new vaccines for children. Only 5 percent of parents feel there is no need for their child to be vaccinated.

This document summarizes the findings of Canada's largest ever survey of Canadian parents on their attitudes toward childhood vaccinations.

All data for this research were collected by Ipsos-Reid via 15-minute telephone interviews with parents of children under the age of seven. The research was sponsored by Wyeth-Ayerst Canada Inc. A total of 1,500 interviews were conducted between May 23rd and June 17th, 2001. A sample of this size carries an associated margin of error of 1772.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Respondent sample was drawn from Ipsos-Reid's national panel which pre-identified respondents as having children in the target age range. Final data were weighted to reflect the population of parents of children under the age of seven according to the latest Census figures.

While a small proportion of parents have concerns over the safety of vaccines, for the most part parents rate childhood immunizations very safe - in fact, six in ten deem them very safe. Furthermore, the vast majority of parents consider immunization very beneficial for their children. And it's not only the children who stand to benefit. Parents report missing an average of more than six days of work or other commitments in a typical year due to ear infections. Parents also see the big picture, recognizing vaccinations as a means of preventing illness and thereby easing the burden on the healthcare system.

Virtually all parents say they would pay out of their own pocket for a vaccination to protect their child, but they also feel very strongly that governments should fund all vaccines. Indeed, one in five parents say they consider non-government funded vaccines to be less of a priority for their children, indicating the impact of government funding on the adoption of new vaccinations. To further illustrate this point, only one in five recall having ever been recommended a vaccination for their child that is not covered by the government. This would suggest that physicians - the most important source of information about vaccinations according to Canadian parents - are resistant to offering vaccines that parents have to pay for on their own.

Some of the key findings of the research include:

• 74% rate having children immunized a `10' on a scale of 0 (not at all important) to 10 (extremely important) - beating out healthy diet, washing their hands and exercise.
• 91% of parents believe vaccinating children may ease the burden on the healthcare system.
• 90% feel all children should have the standard vaccinations.
• 82% actively seek the most recent information about vaccinations.
• Only 5% feel there is no need for children to be vaccinated due to the elimination of vaccine-preventable illnesses.
• 59% are very confident that vaccines are very beneficial (9 or 10 on scale of 0 to 10), with another 25% giving a rating of 8 out of 10.
• Prevention is the number one factor taken into account when deciding to get a vaccination.
• Meningitis and Hepatitis B rank highest on parental concern over children contracting the diseases, as well as parental perception of disease severity.
• 34% of parents have had to miss work or other commitments due to child's ear infection or tube procedure.
• Most parents adhere to children's vaccination schedule.
• 49% would discuss a new vaccine with their physician/pediatrician during their next appointment.
• 75% would turn to their physician for information on vaccines. Physicians also considered most credible source of information.
• Only 21% of parents recall having been offered or recommended a vaccination that is not covered by the government.
• 96% of parents would pay for a vaccine to protect their child out of their own pocket if they had to do so.
• 92% feel governments should fund all vaccines.
• 21% consider non-government funded vaccines less of a priority for their child.

To view the complete media release please download the PDF file.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Susan Oakes
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900