Vaccine hesitancy has been one barrier to the United States achieving herd immunity from COVID-19. Now that the COVID vaccine is safe and available for children ages 5-11, the question arises of how many parents will get their kids vaccinated.

Alex Francisco completed his Ph.D. dissertation on vaccine hesitancy in parents, and now works as a statistician with the Kansas City Health Department. He joins to discuss why parents might be more reluctant to get their kids vaccinated, even if they’re vaccinated themselves.

And we'll get you up to speed on two big court cases taking place this week in Kansas City: the innocence hearing of Kevin Strickland and the trial of Kansas City Police detective Eric J. DeValkenaere.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez

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