Ritu Jha-
Starting Tuesday, June 21, COVID-19 vaccines for children aged six months to five years will be available in the United States. On June 18, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the vaccines for children as young as six months old. The same day, CDC director Rochelle Walensky gave the final seal of approval to the plan. On June 2, White House Covid Response coordinator Ashish Jha had announced that the US government had enough COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc to begin the program for young children if and when the vaccines are approved, and had said that the White House expects the vaccinations to begin on June 21.
The announcement could not have come sooner for Dinsha Mistree, a Research Fellow at Hoover Institution and Stanford Law, California. Last Friday, his three-year-old son Hormazd’s daycare had a Covid outbreak. He wanted to get Hormazd vaccinated, but it was not immediately available. “I will get both my sons vaccinated,” Mistree, who has a two-month-old as well, told indica.
Mistree on Friday, June 17 had inquired both with the Santa Clara County and his children’s pediatrician for vaccine doses, but “they said they don’t have supplies yet and that I should call back at the end of the month,” Mistree said.
San Diego lawyer Namita Patel is a mother of two sons, aged two and four. In an interview to indica, Patel said she is happy the vaccine is finally out. “We want to vaccinate my kids as soon as we can,” she said.
Patel said she has not yet decided which one to administer, but vaccinate she will. “Kids go to school and interact with children from other families,” she said, “but you don’t know who they are interacting with. A vaccine will protect our children.”
She added, “I wish the approval had come earlier, but I understand that they needed to make sure it’s safe for children.”
Southern California-based Jessica Lall serves as the President and CEO of Central City Association (CCA). She said her family is under the weather and is looking forward to the vaccine. “As a working mother of a two-year-old,” Lall said, “I am relieved that we have finally approved Covid-19 vaccines for children between the ages of six months and five years.”
Lall told indica that the entire Covid period has been challenging for several families, including her own. “We are trying to navigate health, childcare, and work,” Lall said. “Being able to vaccinate our children is a critical milestone in our recovery as it will allow families, caregivers and educators to return to greater normalcy, ultimately supporting our global recovery.”
“My husband and I are both vaccinated and boosted, and plan to follow the advice of our pediatrician on vaccinating our daughter,’ she said. Some counties in California have asked parents to register their children.
Sonoma County is expected to begin vaccinating the roughly 21,000 children in this age range through primary care providers and health centers beginning this week.
Appointments for pediatric vaccinations also can be made on myturn.ca.org beginning on Tuesday, June. The CDC has posted guidelines to register and schedule an appointment. You can access them here.
“Our youngest children have had the longest wait, but finally there is a vaccine to protect them against COVID-19,” said Dr Urmila Shende, Sonoma County’s vaccine chief, in a press note. “The vaccine is shown to be safe and effective in preventing the worst outcomes from COVID. This is yet another critical tool to keep our community safe from the virus.”
The County of Santa Clara announced Monday, June 20, to check with their primary care physician or their local pharmacy whether they are offering vaccine appointments for children. The County of Santa Clara has approximately 100,000 children younger than five.
“We are encouraged by the number of doses anticipated to arrive in the early allotments,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, Associate Chief Medical Officer for Santa Clara Valley Medical Center said through a press note. “This will provide a wonderful start in vaccinating this very young age group. Our staff is ready to receive the vaccinations and, pending CDC approval, begin administering them.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in an official statement from the CDC said that the parents and caregivers can now get their children 6 months through 5 years of age vaccinated with the Pfizer, BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to better protect them from COVID-19. All children, including children who have already had COVID-19, should get vaccinated.
Vaccines for the below five kids will be available at pediatrician’s offices, children’s hospitals and pharmacies.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “Vaccines are safe, effective and widely accessible – we are strongly encouraging parents to protect their kids from Covid-19 with these vaccines. California has pre-ordered nearly 400,000 doses that can be administered at more than 8,500 vaccine sites throughout the state.”
In October 2020, California had instituted a 13-member Covid-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup comprising nationally acclaimed scientists with expertise in immunization and public health, to independently review the FDA’s action taken on Covid vaccines. Washington, Oregon and Nevada had joined the workgroup the same year.
The workgroup study revealed that after completion of either vaccine series, the antibody levels produced were similar to those in individuals aged 16-25 years. The reactions observed in infants between six and 12 months and children between the ages one to five years were consistent with reactions to other vaccines administered within the age group.
The workgroup concluded the benefits outweighed any known or possible risks. Experts feel the immunization is expected to reduce the numbers of Covid-19-related illnesses that could require hospitalization and even fatalities, while allowing them to carry on with education and social and recreational activities.
According to the California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary, Dr Mark Ghaly and the Director of California Department of Public Health, Dr Tomas J Aragon, Covid-19 hospitalization for children under four years were five times higher in the Omicron surge than during the previous Delta. One in five of the children had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
“Studies have shown that getting our children vaccinated is the safest way to protect them from the worst outcomes of Covid-19, including hospitalization, long Covid, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, and death. Getting everyone in our homes and communities vaccinated reduces the chances for the virus to spread to those we love most,” the two top officials said in a joint statement.
“Vaccination for children aged six months and older is an important tool to protect against Covid-19 and ensures our communities can now have whole family protection against this deadly virus. Along with other routine children’s vaccinations, we recommend infants and children six months and older complete their Covid-19 vaccination series and stay up to date on all recommended childhood vaccines, including Covid-19,” the statement read.
US President Joe Biden described the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement recommending the first Covid 19 vaccines for kids under the age of five as a “monumental step forward in the nation’s fight against the virus” on Saturday, June 18.
“This is a day of relief and celebration for parents all over the country,” Biden said. “As the first country to protect our youngest children with Covid 19 vaccines, my administration has been planning and preparing for this moment for months, effectively securing doses and offering safe and highly effective mRNA vaccines for all children as young as six months old.”
