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| AP Photo/Ted S. Warren |
Few parents are getting their young children vaccinated against COVID-19, despite the Biden administration’s much-anticipated rollout of the shots for children under the age of 5 more than a month ago.
As of last week, just 4.7% of U.S. children aged 6 months to 4 years old had received at least one dose of the shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Parents are not lining up for the shots, which became available June 18 after the Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for children as young as 6 months.
According to the FDA, “the known and potential benefits of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the known and potential risks in the pediatric populations authorized for use for each vaccine.”
But parents are hesitant, and many say they will not vaccinate their young children until there is more information about immediate and long-term side effects of the “newer technology” mRNA used in the Moderna and Pfizer shots to trigger an immune response.
The debate about the shots rages on social media sites, where pro-vaccine parents accuse reluctant ones of ignoring the advice of medical professionals and the U.S. government.
Those who do not plan to vaccinate their children point to the evolving evidence on efficacy that shows the vaccine is limited when it comes to preventing kids from getting the virus, while the complaints pile up about the side effects of the shot.
“Praise God some parents have common sense to protect their kids. They don’t need your toxic jab!!!” Janet Vogt of Florida said. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Photograph by Nicky Quamina-Woo for The WSJ |
More than a month after the shots became available, roughly 4% to 5% of children under 5 years have received them
Parents are having their say about the Covid-19 vaccines for children under 5, and for most, the answer so far is no.
More than a month after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended shots for about 17.4 million children ages 6 months through 4 years, about 4% to 5% of them have received a shot, according to the most recent agency data and population estimates from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
By contrast, the vaccination rate for children 5 to 11 years reached about 18% a month after the CDC first recommended shots last November. The rate now stands at about 38%.
“The rates of uptake are just not what we would hope,” said Brannon Traxler, director of public health for the Department of Health and Environmental Control in South Carolina, where recent data show about 2% of the state’s babies and toddlers have received at least one dose. “This is a common theme across the country in many places.”
Some parents are holding off until their children get fall checkups or because their children recently became infected, parents, doctors and health officials said.
High numbers of parents also don’t perceive the virus as a threat, or have safety concerns because the vaccines are still new, according to surveys and parents and health officials.
Health authorities said they had expected parents to inoculate their young children slowly. To increase uptake, state health officials said they are counting on doctors conveying to families accurate information about the vaccines’ safety and efficacy.
Joe Woerner, 47, a science teacher from Asbury Park, N.J., said he doesn’t plan to vaccinate his 8-month-old son or 3-year-old daughter. He said all four of his children recovered from mild cases of Covid-19, and he hasn’t seen enough scientific evidence that the virus posed a threat to young children. ---->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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