NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A December poll on children's health shows many Tennesseans are reluctant to wear masks or consider vaccinations for their children.
This comes as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise to new daily highs with a greater positivity rate, and more schools move to virtual classes amid dwindling teacher and student attendance.
The poll was conducted by the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy, finding that fewer than 6 in 10 Tennessee parents reported wearing masks in public all the time, and nearly half reporting they were unlikely to vaccinate their child for COVID-19.
"Although evidence is clear that masks reduce viral transmission at the individual level and reduce case spread at the population level, only 57% of parents reported wearing a mask or face covering every time they were in stores, businesses, or outside the home in the past month," the poll said.
The poll showed differences in perception between different ethnicities. When it came to masks, non-Hispanic Black parents reported the highest rates of wearing them at 73%. Non-Hispanic White Tennessee parents reported wearing them the least at 52%.
Tennessee has not issued a statewide mask mandate since the pandemic began, leaving it up to the 95 counties to make the decision individually. Overall, 49% of parents strongly agreed they'd wear a mask if there were a state mandate, and 46% said they'd do so if there were a national mandate.
With a few COVID-19 vaccines on the verge of approval for adults in the U.S., Vanderbilt said vaccine studies and approvals for children will likely follow.
"Vaccinating children against COVID-19 will likely become important to protecting them from the virus and controlling community spread," the poll said.
When asked if they would get the COVID-19 vaccine for their children, roughly 53% of Tennessee parents said they likely would -- lower than the number of parents saying they'd vaccinate their children for the flu (64%). Vanderbilt also notices significant differences in response by ethnicity, finding Hispanic parents were the most likely to favor vaccines (61%) compared to White parents (54%) and Black parents (44%).
Vanderbilt said these differences are important to understand because COVID-19 has disproportionately affected people from marginalized racial ethnic groups due, in part, to structural racism that affects where families live, work, learn, and play.
"These inequities manifest in greater likelihood of being an essential worker, living in a crowded, multi- generational home, or not having access to health care leading to greater risk of virus exposure and the conditions associated with severe disease."
The poll concluded the differences highlight an urgent need for the medical and public health fields to understand why people are hesitant to vaccinate so they can build trust through transparency and inclusion.
"COVID-19 has surged in Tennessee and public health organizations are urgently asking that people take measures to limit virus spread and prepare for flu season," the poll said. "Although public health organizations and medical professionals were frequently cited as trustworthy sources of information, mistrust is common among Tennessee parents."