Vaccinate yourself but not your children? Determinants of parental COVID-19 vaccination willingness

Abstract

We study socio-economic determinants of parental willingness to vaccinate themselves and their children against COVID-19 in Germany. We find that better educated parents are more likely to vaccinate both themselves as well as their children. Own experience with restrictions due to Corona measures are also positively related to vaccination willingness. Parents who vaccinate themselves and their children have a greater faith in the effectiveness of the vaccines to protect people from illness while those who vaccinate only themselves (not their children) are more likely to do so in order to get back personal freedoms. Fear of side effects for child vaccination (resulting in the decision not to vaccinate their children) is more pronounced among women, less educated, and individuals with non-German citizenship.