Millions of doses of Corona virus vaccine have been provided for children aged 5 to 11 in the USA; however, public health officials and doctors in more than 10 states reported low demand for vaccines for young children.
According to federal data, nearly 5 million of the 28 million children ages 5 to 11 in the United States have received at least one dose, meeting initial high demand from parents expecting to vaccinate their children.
Officials told Reuters news agency that at the current rate, less than half of children in this age group are expected to be fully vaccinated in the coming months. Some states, including Mississippi, are reporting thousands of vaccine doses being idle.
“We’re concerned that demand won’t be as fast and as high as it is for the adult population,” said Karyl Rattay, Delaware’s director of public health.
A lower dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for 5 to 11 year olds was licensed in the US last month, and the first vaccines began on November 3rd.
Doctors Reuters spoke to said that vaccination hesitancy among families affects the vaccination rate in the 5-11 age group more than other groups.
“I think parents are nervous. There’s probably a group of parents who feel comfortable vaccinating themselves but are hesitant to get their kids vaccinated,” said Matthew Harris, MD, a pediatrician who runs the COVID-19 immunization program at the Northwell Health hospitals group in New York.
Concerns that the Omicron variant, first recorded in South Africa and Hong Kong in late November, would spread rapidly in the US and cause a further increase in cases due to the already easily transmitted Delta variant, added urgency to the vaccination of children.
“It’s critical to have as much immunity as possible across the population,” said researcher Doctor Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, given the prevalence of Delta and the possibilities for the new variant spreading in the United States.
While severe illness and death from COVID-19 among children is relatively rare, cases among unvaccinated persons under the age of 17 have increased in recent months. Another concern is the possibility that infected children can transmit the virus to others at high risk of serious illness, including those already vaccinated.
Some parents are also concerned about heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis), a rare side effect of the vaccine, which occurs at higher rates in young men than in the rest of the population.
Rochelle Walensky, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Dec. 7 that it is reviewing the CDC’s database of side effects and that myocarditis has not been reported among those vaccinated in the 5-11 age group.
Sean O’Leary, professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado, said that the dissemination of the vaccine to children may also be hampered by staff shortages in health centers and greater reliance on pediatricians as opposed to mass vaccination centers.
According to federal data, less than 20 percent of children aged 5 to 11 in the United States receive at least one dose of the vaccine. The adult rate is 80 percent. Of concern is the possibility of flattening the number of children vaccinated for COVID-19.
More children received a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine last week than children who received their first dose, according to government data. This shows that there is a slowdown in demand, except for families who take action to vaccinate their children at the first opportunity.
“I think what we were hoping for was to get parents to reassure themselves by talking to their pediatrician. But I don’t think this approach is really working,” said Matthew Harris, MD, of Northwell Health.
Omicron increase in vaccination
Americans’ daily immunization rate has been rising steadily since the Biden administration widened the age range, and it has been on the rise since Thanksgiving, when the Omicron variant was discovered.
More than 200 million people in the United States, or more than 60 percent of the population, are fully vaccinated.
According to federal data, an average of 1 million 780 thousand doses of vaccine are administered per day. This number represents a decrease of about 47 percent from the peak of 3.38 million reported on April 13.
Cases and hospitalizations are also still increasing in the US. Daily cases are over 120,000 on average, and more than 55 thousand people are hospitalized nationwide due to Covid-19. This number, which is much less than in September, indicates an increase of more than 15 percent in the last two weeks. Losses of life increased by 12 percent in the last two weeks, approaching 1300 per day.
National guard support to the states
On the other hand, three states in the northeast of the country, New York, New Hampshire and Maine, called the national guards to fight against the pandemic.
The New York National Guard announced that it has sent 120 paramedics and medical technicians to more than 10 nursing homes across the state. The appointment was made at the behest of Governor Kathy Hochul last week, due to staff shortages. Hochul said he could also deploy the national guards in hospitals.
In Maine, too, Governor Janet Mills mobilized the national guard after the spike in Covid-19 cases.
“I don’t take this action lightly, but we must take steps to lighten the load on our healthcare system and provide care to everyone who needs it,” Mills said in a statement.
New Hampshire Governor Christopher Sununu also called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the national guard to help the state fight the outbreak, which is expected to escalate during the winter months.
“They told us that the first 24-person team to assist will be sent by the end of this week,” Sununu said. Governor Sununu said the extra personnel provided by the national guard will enable hospitals to use all their units to better serve them.
FEMA will also help New Hampshire by the end of next week by providing 30 paramedics. “We have assigned these 30 health workers to the hospitals where the epidemic burden is highest,” Sununu said.