Poll: Most parents support school mask mandates

The majority of parents disagree with schools' mandating COVID vaccines for kids 12 and older, but they do support mask mandates among the unvaccinated, according to a KFF Vaccine Monitor poll released Wednesday.

By the numbers: 63% of parents said they thought students 12 and older and staff who hadn't gotten a shot should be required to wear masks in school compared to 36% who opposed the idea.

• But only 42% of parents felt comfortable with vaccine mandates, while 58% were against them.

Zoom out: More than 40% of parents of kids ages 12–17 said their kids had been vaccinated, up from 34% in June. Another 6% of those parents said they planned for their teen to get the vaccine right away.

• Nearly a quarter (23%) said they want to "wait and see" how the vaccine works for others before getting their eligible child vaccinated.
• Nearly one in 10 said they would get their child a shot "only if their school requires it" and one in five parents said their child will "definitely not" get vaccinated.

And here's a look at the concerns parents of teens are having: