The vaccination rate among younger children accelerated in its second week across San Diego County, with some saying the desire for seasonal travel and visiting older relatives is driving interest among many families.
San Diego County’s weekly COVID-19 update indicates that 27,723 children ages 5 to 11 had received their first doses as of Tuesday. That’s more than triple last week’s total of 7,320, which represented the first six days of vaccination in an age group that began rolling up their sleeves on Nov. 3.
The pace mirrors the morning message from the White House that said 2.6 million children in kindergarten through sixth grade have received their first shots nationwide, representing nearly 10 percent of the 28 million who are it estimates that they are in the recently approved vaccination age range.
Locally, about 310,000 children are part of the new cohort, which saw their proportion of first doses received go from 2.4 percent to 8.9 percent in a single week.
The latest demographic data detailed by the county health department shows that a region that the agency designates as North center it is the fastest paced, with 14 percent of its estimated 53,759 children ages 5 to 11 already receiving their first doses.
North-central, as defined by the county, includes Del Mar, Miramar, the University area, La Jolla, Point Loma, and east through Del Cerro, San Carlos and beyond Miramar to Scripps Ranch .
The south and north of the county had rates close to 8.9 percent. East and downtown San Diego, south of Interstate 8, were below that mark, at 5.5 percent and 5.8 percent respectively.
It’s hard to say if younger children are getting vaccinated faster than adults because the vaccine supply was limited in December 2020 when it first became available, and additional age groups were gradually added: healthcare workers first. Frontline, then all health care workers, then essential workers and those over 75, then those over 65.
But Chris Abe, vice president of operations at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, sees the pace as fast.
Rady was the first to offer the vaccines two weeks ago and has continued to deliver hundreds of doses a day, hitting 300 to 500 on Fridays and Saturdays, Abe said. The reason the numbers are increasing now, he said, has to do with the fact that doctor’s offices, clinics and retail locations – especially Wal-Mart and CVS other pharmacies – are now in operation.
“The commitment as a county is that we have to get the shots, and I think everyone is answering the 5-11 call,” Abe said.
And an interesting phenomenon is beginning to emerge. Some children come to get vaccinated and bring their unvaccinated parents to get their first shots as well. In some cases, it may be a child who convinces an adult to accompany him and join the vaccination line. In other cases, it appears to be a question of equity.
“We have had several families like this,” he said. “We have seen some in which they only wanted to get vaccinated as a family.
“They felt it was more fair; They did not think it was good to protect themselves without their children ”.
There is also, he said, a clear seasonal factor at play.
“They want their children to get vaccinated before the holidays because they are going to visit grandparents or take a trip,” he said.
The pandemic continues to progress relatively steadily, with a seven-day average case rate per 100,000 residents of 14.2 this week, up from 14.6 last week.
Average weekly test positivity rates have continued at 3.2 percent for the past two weeks, and the total number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospitalized continues to bounce around 300 a day across all non-military hospitals. of San Diego County.
Local case and hospitalization rates remain significantly higher in those who are not yet fully vaccinated.
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