Kids' low COVID-19 vaccination rates called a 'gut punch'

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Suspicion, misinformation, complacency and delays due to the fact that of the holidays and atrocious upwind person combined to nutrient alarmingly debased COVID-19 vaccination rates successful U.S. children ages 5 to 11, authorities say.

As of Tuesday, conscionable implicit 17% were afloat vaccinated, much than 2 months aft shots for the property radical became available. While Vermont is astatine 48%, California is conscionable shy of 19% and Mississippi is lone astatine 5%.

Vaccinations among the simple schoolhouse acceptable surged aft the shots were introduced successful the fall, but the numbers person crept up dilatory since then, and omicron’s explosive dispersed appears to person had small effect.

The debased rates are “very disturbing,’’ said Dr. Robert Murphy, enforcement manager for the Institute for Global Health astatine Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “It’s conscionable amazing."

Parents who hesitate “are taking an tremendous hazard and continuing to substance the pandemic,’’ Murphy said.

Hospitalizations of children nether 18 with COVID-19 successful the U.S. person climbed to their highest levels connected grounds successful the past fewer weeks.

The debased vaccination rates and rising hospitalizations are “a gut punch, particularly erstwhile we’ve been moving truthful hard to support these kids well,’’ said Dr. Natasha Burgert, a pediatrician successful Overland Park, Kansas.

The vaccines person proved highly harmless and effectual astatine reducing the hazard of terrible illness, hospitalization and death.

Overall, 63% of Americans are afloat vaccinated. Among children 12 to 17, the complaint is 54%.

COVID-19 shots for young children person been authorized successful astatine slightest 12 countries. In Canada, wherever Pfizer shots were cleared for ages 5 to 11 successful November, conscionable 2% are afloat vaccinated.

Snowstorms, tornadoes and different dense upwind successful December are believed to person slowed the gait of vaccination successful the U.S., on with the engaged vacation season. Still, galore parents person different concerns.

Chicago parent Kendra Shaw has resisted shots for her 2 school-age children, saying she worries astir imaginable risks and isn’t convinced the benefits are worthy it.

But this week, her 10-year-old girl pleaded to get vaccinated truthful she wouldn’t miss school, and her soon-to-be 7-year-old lad asked for his shots truthful helium could person a large day party.

Shaw scheduled their archetypal doses for Wednesday but said: “I’m truly connected the fence.’’

Daniel Kotzin, of Denver, said helium is convinced helium made the close determination not to vaccinate his 5-year-old girl and 7-year-old lad due to the fact that astir omicron cases look to beryllium mild.

“They are fundamentally astatine nary hazard of harm, truthful I truly don’t recognize the crushed to vaccinate them,” helium said.

Doctors accidental that benignant of reasoning is misguided and portion of the problem.

“It’s true, kids successful wide bash amended than adults with COVID," said Dr. Elizabeth Murray, a pediatric exigency medicine doc successful Rochester, New York, and a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, "but ‘not excessively sick’ inactive tin mean miserable with fevers and musculus aches for a week. It tin besides mean MIS-C oregon agelong COVID.’’

MIS-C, oregon multisystem inflammatory syndrome, is simply a uncommon but superior information linked to COVID-19 that tin impact galore organs and typically requires hospitalization.

Authorities don’t deliberation omicron is making children and adults much earnestly sick than different variants, and accidental hospitalization rates are up partially due to the fact that it is truthful overmuch much contagious.

Some children person been admitted for underlying conditions specified arsenic lung disease, diabetes and sickle compartment illness that person worsened due to the fact that of an omicron infection, doctors say.

Dr. Jesse Hackell, a pediatrician successful Pomona, New York, said that astatine slightest 25% of his patients ages 5 to 11 are vaccinated, but that aft an archetypal unreserved successful the fall, the numbers person dwindled.

“It’s a pugnacious sell,’’ helium said. “We’re not ready” is simply a communal comment, Hackell said. “When I ask, ‘What are you waiting for?’ I get benignant of a shrug. I’ve had a fewer say, ’We’re not going to beryllium the archetypal million. We’ll hold to spot what happens."'

A frustrated Hackell said the government’s vaccination run is intelligibly struggling against misinformation and “pseudoscience,” the likes of which helium has ne'er seen earlier successful his 40-plus years arsenic a pediatrician.

He said the authorities needs to get pugnacious and mandate the shots.

“If we could get each kid vaccinated crossed the board, it would spell a agelong way. It wouldn’t extremity the pandemic, but it would extremity the terrible disease,’’ Hackell said. “It could assistance crook the microorganism into thing much superior than the communal cold, and we tin woody with that.’’

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Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner astatine @LindseyTanner.

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AP writers Rebecca Santana successful New Orleans and Adriana Gomez Licon successful Miami contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives enactment from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely liable for each content.

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