COVID Vaccinations Get Slow Start for Youngest Texans

Three weeks after approval for COVID vaccines for kids under five, Texas is reporting just 33,000 have received a first dose, less than two percent of the kids in that age group.

According to Texas-based researcher Dr. Peter Hotez, it’s also part of a pattern.

“It’s not that it wasn’t expected, because you know, here in the southern United States, states like Louisiana, Mississippi, we’re a little better in Texas, but you know, we’re looking at 11% of the five to 11-year-olds have been vaccinated. That’s a big decline from the 12 to 17-year-olds,” said Hotez.

Hotez said he expects to see little progress headed into fall, even as covid cases among youth increased by more than 50 percent week over week in Dallas County and Cook Children’s reported a 31 percent positivity rate.

“People ignore the fact that more than 1,200 children have died from COVID-19 and there have been thousands and thousands of hospitalizations, and not to mention the prospect of long COVID among children,” he said.

A study from London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital found those long-term symptoms could impact as many as one in seven kids who’ve contracted the virus.

Hotez also blames low vaccination rates on anti-vaccine messaging and a lack of advocation from public health leaders for pediatric vaccinations.

He said now, it’s up to children’s hospitals and pharmacies, which have been slow to welcome this youngest group, to assure parents that the vaccine is well-vetted and effective at keeping kids safe.

“The most important is to recognize that, even among kids, COVID-19 is a significant problem both in terms of hospitalizations, severe illness, deaths, and long COVID. So, I think that’s the major message to strike home. But also, by vaccinating our kids, we can ensure that they stay in school. They’re not losing time because of COVID illness,” said Hotez.