Suspicion, misinformation, complacency and delays due to holidays and bad weather have combined to produce an alarmingly low rate of coronavirus vaccination among children ages 5 to 11 in the United States, officials have warned.
As of Tuesday, just over 17% of children in that group were fully vaccinated, more than two months after they were declared eligible. While Vermont’s vaccination rate is 48%, California’s is just under 19% and Mississippi’s is just 5%.
Vaccinations among elementary school children rose once the shots were launched in the fall, but the numbers have risen only slowly since then, and the explosion in cases of the omicron variant appears to have done little to affect the trend.
The low rates are “very disturbing,” said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University School of Medicine. “Is incredible”.
Parents who hesitate to vaccinate their children “are taking a huge risk and fueling the pandemic,” Murphy added.
Hospitalizations of children under 18 in the United States have risen to their highest level in recent weeks.
Low vaccination rates and rising hospitalizations are “punching you in the stomach, especially when we’ve been working so hard to keep these kids safe,” said Dr. Natasha Burgert, a pediatrician in Overland Park, Kansas.
Vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective in reducing the risk of severe symptoms, hospitalizations, and deaths.
In total, 63% of people in the United States are fully vaccinated. Among children between 12 and 17 years old, the rate is 54%.
Doses of vaccines for COVID-19 for young children have been licensed in at least 12 countries. In Canada, where Pfizer’s doses for children ages 5 to 11 were licensed in November, just 2% of children are fully vaccinated.
Snowstorms, tornadoes and other unfavorable weather conditions in December have slowed the pace of vaccinations in the United States, apart from the holiday season. Still, some parents remain unsure about the need to vaccinate their children, which worries many doctors.
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