'Do It For The Kids:' US Adults Warm Up To Vaccinating Their Children Against COVID-19

More U.S. adults are warming to the idea of getting their children and themselves vaccinated, according to a poll released Tuesday from Axios and Ipsos.

The polls showed that 68% of parents said they either have already vaccinated their children or are likely to as soon as it's permitted for their age group. Axios noted that this is the highest percentage of its surveys and a marked increase from 58% just two weeks ago.

Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson said that children under 12 currently make up the largest share of unvaccinated Americans, numbering about 48 million. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved vaccinations for this age group, even after issuing an emergency authorization in May for children 12 and older.

An FDA official speaking anonymously to CNBC said that the agency was looking to provide an emergency authorization for the 12 and under age group by the winter but it would require an additional four to six months to provide it after vaccine providers like Pfizer and Moderna share results of their own trials.

Concern for their children and vaccine mandates from employers are the main drivers behind the lift in urgency for Americans to get vaccinated. Children are returning to a new school year and more adults are being asked to get vaccinated by their employers before returning to work. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 74% of eligible Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to date.

This finding is an important indicator of a decline in vaccination hesitancy among U.S. adults amid a surge in the Delta variant of COVID-19 among unvaccinated Americans.

The White House has repeatedly urged more Americans to get vaccinated, particularly after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was formally approved on Aug. 23. Officials blame online misinformation for discouraging more people from receiving a vaccine.

The Axios-Ipsos poll also showed that efforts to encourage more vaccinations are reducing the overall number of Americans who are hesitant or outright opposed to it. Of those who remain skeptical, 6% said they were not very likely to get a vaccine and another 14% said they were unlikely at all to do so.