Quarter of parents hesitate about vaccinations for children Large majority still choose to vaccinate their children against serious illness

More than a quarter of parents hesitate about the vaccinations for their child, offered through the National Immunization Program. Despite having these doubts, the vast majority of hesitant parents still decide to have their children vaccinated against serious diseases such as polio, diphtheria, and whooping cough. This is evident from a study conducted by the Radboud university medical center, in which parents of children younger than three months completed a questionnaire. At the age of six months, researchers followed up which vaccinations the children had actually received. 

The willingness to vaccinate has declined in the Dutch population and in 2022 the vaccination rate among children up to two years of age dropped below the critical threshold of 90%. As a result, there is an increased risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases due to the declining level of group immunity. While much is already known about the motivations of those who refuse vaccinations, there has been little research into how many parents are actually hesitant about vaccinating their child and what their characteristics are. This is what researchers at Radboudumc are now mapping out. 

Parents with children under three months old received a questionnaire about their socio-demographic background and values. Vaccine hesitancy was assessed using a previously developed and validated method. At six months of age, researchers assessed whether the children had received the recommended vaccinations. A total of 533 parents participated in the study. 

The results show that 27% of parents indicate varying degrees of hesitancy about the vaccinations for their child. Vaccine hesitancy was more common among parents with a lower level of education, a religious background or anthroposophical worldview. The researchers also found an association with the age of the parents: younger parents were more likely to be hesitant than older parents. Hesitant parents attached more importance on the perceived risks of vaccination than on protection against disease or the social benefits of vaccination.

Vaccination after hesitancy 

The researchers looked at how many children had been vaccinated at six months of age and which vaccinations they had received. They obtained data for 423 children. Of these, 403 had been vaccinated according to the schedule against serious diseases such as polio, diphtheria, and whooping cough. 'Although a quarter of parents had doubts, the majority still choose to vaccinate their children,' said Daphne Bussink, lead author and infectious disease control physician at Radboudumc. Parents who reported hesitancy were more likely not to vaccinate their child according to the recommended schedule compared to parents not reporting hesitancy. 

Support for parents with vaccine hesitancy 

'It is essential to take vaccine hesitancy serious and to recognize the concerns and values behind them,' says Bussink. 'Parents need to feel heard and understood. Now that we know more about the group of hesitant parents, we can better support them in decision-making about vaccination.' 

The researchers emphasize the importance of timely support and information. Jeannine Hautvast, physician in Public Health at Radboudumc, adds: 'Currently, doubts about vaccination or refusal are only noticed when children visit the consultation clinic. But many parents make their decision about vaccination much earlier—often during pregnancy. This is precisely the moment when we want to support parents in their decision-making process and that is the focus of our ongoing research.'

In this picture: first author and infectious disease control physician Daphne Bussink-Voorend. 

About these publications 

This research has been published in Vaccine: Vaccine hesitancy among Dutch parents of newborn children and its associated characteristics, values and uptake of vaccines. Daphne Bussink-Voorend, Marlies E.J.L. Hulscher, Reinier Akkermans, André Krom, Jeannine L.A. Hautvast. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127244.

The research about the Vaccine Hesitancy Assessment (VHA) has been published earlier this year in Human Vaccines & Immunnotherapeutics: Developing a practical tool for measuring parental vaccine hesitancy: A people-centered validation approach in Dutch. D. Bussink-Voorend, J.L.A. Hautvast, T. Wiersma, R. Akkermans, M.E.J.L. Hulscher. DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2025.2466303.

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