U.S. health workers began vaccinating Covid-19 in children 6 months to 5 years old on Tuesday, another milestone in the coronavirus pandemic that came 18 months after adults began receiving injections of Covid-19. virus.
But the parents’ response was remarkably silenced, with little indication of the excitement and long lines that greeted the first vaccine launches.
An April poll showed that less than one-fifth of parents of children under the age of 5 were eager to access the dam immediately. Early adopters in this age group appeared to be atypical.
At 9 a.m., Dayton Children’s Hospital in Ohio became one of the first places to vaccinate younger children, with the three-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for this age group. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also endorsed a second option for young children, a two-dose Modern regimen.
Brian Wentzel, 38, brought his 2-year-old son, Bodhi, at 9:15 p.m. The boy grabbed a stuffed dog and bravely took the shot in the leg. Her mother is a hospital doctor.
“It was important to vaccinate him,” Wentzel said. “It is extremely effective in preventing serious illness.”
At a White House press conference on Tuesday afternoon, President Biden described the expanded vaccines as “a monumental step forward.”
“The United States,” he continued, “is now the first country in the world to offer safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months old.”
He encouraged all Americans to get vaccinated and said parents should talk to a family doctor if they have any questions. In addition to doctor’s offices, hospitals and clinics, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacy chains will soon offer vaccines to younger children, Biden said.
The president also addressed, albeit obliquely, a controversy in Florida, where the state refused to request doses of vaccine for young children. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican with presidential ambitions, said last week, “We are in the affirmative against the Covid vaccine for young children.”
On Tuesday, Mr Biden said “elected officials should not stand in the way and make it more difficult for parents”.
Since then, Florida has allowed health care providers to order vaccines, but in many places, including Florida and New York, vaccines did not yet appear to be widely available. Some pediatric offices reported that they had not yet received the injections or that they planned to administer the vaccine primarily at regular scheduled visits to the well.
However, the claims of families are limited. The reasons for the parents’ doubts about the vaccine are varied. Two years after the pandemic, many families have resigned themselves to living with the virus and most American children have already become infected, most with mild symptoms.
Updated
June 21, 2022, 4:44 p.m. ET
While vaccines remain highly effective in protecting against serious illness and death, they have become less effective in preventing infection as the virus has mutated, causing disappointment and some public cynicism about injections. Some parents have encountered widespread misinformation about the risks, while others are concerned about rare side effects or simply do not want their children to be among the first to receive a newly acquired vaccine.
This is the case even though parents and young children have suffered some of the longest public educational and health restrictions due to their lack of access to a vaccine. And this is especially true in liberal-leaning states and cities, which have taken a more cautious approach to the virus.
Many child and preschools still require masking and quarantine periods for children who come into close contact with the virus, although K-12 schools have generally lifted these precautions. Parents are exhausted after years of altered routines and report that their young children have never experienced school or socializing under normal conditions.
Joseph G. Allen, an expert on indoor environmental quality at Harvard University who has studied coronavirus and schools, said he believed it was time to lift most restrictions on young children. Even if the adoption of the newest pediatric vaccine is limited, he said, young children have “the lowest risk and have had the highest loads, as adults are doing what they want to do.”
The best way for nurseries and staff to protect students and staff over the next year, when new variants may arise, is to invest in air quality improvements, such as HVAC system upgrades and air purifiers. portable air with HEPA filters, teacher. said Allen.
To date, the pediatric vaccine campaign has disappointed many public health experts. Less than 30 percent of children ages 5 to 11 have received two injections, and the vaccination rate may be even lower among younger children. With high parent reluctance, only California and Washington, DC, have announced their intention to require vaccination against Covid-19 to attend school, according to the National Academy of State Health Policy.
In a splash zone in West St. Paul, Minnesota, Jen Wilkerson, a 28-year-old barista, said she had no plans to vaccinate her 4-year-old son Jaxson, even though she was vaccinated.
He said he was worried after he developed lumps in his leg after two vaccines for other illnesses, and recalled that Jaxson had not fallen ill when he contracted Covid-19 last year.
“He’s a window licker,” he said. “With how strong his immune system is, I don’t feel the need to get vaccinated right now. I’m waiting for him to grow up. I’ll wait until he’s about 10 years old.”
In Durant, Mississippi, Monique Moore, 39, a teacher, said she would wait a few months for her son Rashun to turn 5 before he was vaccinated.
“I didn’t want him to be in the first batch to do it,” he said, “but I didn’t want him not to either.”
Doctors and vaccine experts say parents of 4-year-olds should not postpone vaccination.
Other parents said that vaccination would allow them to finally get through a difficult period of their lives.
In Brookline, Massachusetts, Jenn Erickson, 40, quit her job when her son Miro was born at the start of the pandemic. She said she “does not hesitate” to vaccinate him because it will allow him to confidently enroll his child in daycare while he returns to work.
“It seems like a lot of the world has gone on without us,” Ms. Erickson. “Children who were born during the pandemic are finally getting some protection. There will have to be a massive celebration for parents who have had to endure this massive stress.”
And for some families, the new vaccine will change their lives.
Whitney Stohr, 35, of Lynnwood, Washington, was planning to take her 4-year-old son, Malachi Stohr-Hendrickson, to be vaccinated Tuesday at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Malachi has spina bifida, hydrocephalus, and congenital heart defects that put him at high risk for Covid-19 complications. For more than two years, the family has remained isolated.
The shooting would mean Malachi will start occupational and physical therapy and preschool in person. And as she needs assistance 24 hours a day, she will once again receive respite care from Mrs. Stohr.
“It will be a great feeling of relief,” Ms. Stohr. “It will only eliminate a deep fear that the virus will catch it before we have a chance to try to stop it and try to prevent it.”
The reports were provided by Kevin Williams, Christina Capecchi, Ellen B. Meacham, Catherine McGloin, Alanis Thames, Adam Bednar and Hallie Golden.