Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Covid Vaccines Roll Out To Littlest Kids, Many Parents 'Wait And See'
AP: Biden Visits Clinic, Celebrates COVID Shots For Kids Under 5
President Joe Biden visited a vaccination clinic Tuesday to celebrate that virtually all Americans can now get a COVID-19 shot Tuesday after the authorization of vaccines for kids under 5 over the weekend. Biden visited a vaccination clinic in Washington, where some of the first shots were given to young children in the last major age group ineligible for vaccines, hailing it as an important pandemic milestone that will support the country’s recovery. While anyone aged six months and up is now eligible for vaccines, the administration is cautioning that it expects the pace of shots for the youngest kids to be slower than older ones, as parents are more likely to rely on their children’s pediatricians to administer them. (Miller and Boak, 6/21)
The New York Times: Covid Vaccines Slowly Roll Out For Children Under 5
Health workers across the United States began to give Covid-19 vaccinations to children 6 months to 5 years old on Tuesday, another milestone in the coronavirus pandemic that came 18 long months after adults first began to receive injections against the virus. But the response from parents was notably muted, with little indication of the excitement and long lines that greeted earlier vaccine rollouts. (Goldstein, 6/21)
The Washington Post: U.S. Begins Vaccinating Young Children Against Coronavirus
Eighteen months after a New York nurse received the first U.S. coronavirus vaccination, immunizations became available Tuesday for millions of children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, the last group of Americans to be afforded that protection. Pediatricians, drugstores, hospitals and community vaccination centers began to administer first doses of two vaccines to children: the Pfizer-BioNTech product to children ages 6 months through 4 years; and the Moderna vaccine to children 6 months through 5 years old. (Bernstein and Wu, 6/21)
More on the vaccine rollout —
USA Today: COVID-19 Vaccines For Kids Under 5 Are Finally Here, But Most Parents Aren't Jumping In Line
Some parents say the vaccine trials conducted among young children were too small to satisfy their safety concerns, said Grant Paulsen, an infectious disease pediatrician and lead researcher for the children under 5 vaccine trials at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Though adult trials included more than 70,000 people for both vaccines, 5,000 children received at least one dose of the Moderna vaccine and 3,000 received Pfizer. Although health experts saw no signs of safety concerns in the clinical trials, they said rare side effects could turn up as more children are vaccinated, just as with other pediatric vaccines. (Rodriguez and Stanton, 6/21)
Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Health Experts Encourage Parents To Vaccinate Children As Young As 6 Months Old Against COVID-19
Over the last weekend, federal officials authorized the use of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations in children ages 6 months to 4 years old. Iowa health experts are encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated as soon as the pediatric vaccine doses arrive in the state. "In both vaccines, what we see is young children are able to produce similar levels of what we call neutralizing antibodies with these vaccine schedules, just the same as adolescents and young adults," said Joel Waddell, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines. (Krebs, 6/21)
Indianapolis Star: With State's Ourshot Site Slow To Update COVID Vax Hard To Find
Scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine for the littlest children proved to be somewhat of a moving target for Indiana parents Tuesday. Mid-morning the Indiana Department of Health posted a map of sites that were offering vaccine for those under 5, but the site had not yet updated to accept appointments. Initially the department said vaccine would be offered on a walk-in basis. A few hours later, the ourshot.in.gov scheduling website directed parents to contact vaccine sites directly or call the state's 211(866-211-9966) line before visiting a clinic. Health officials encourage parents to check if the vaccine is available and if appointments are required at the site that they want to visit. (Rudavsky, 6/21)
In case you missed it —
The New York Times: How To Prepare Your Kid For The Covid Vaccine
Trypanophobia, as the fear of needles is technically called, is common — with some studies estimating it can affect most kids under 10. Some children get so worked up just by thinking of a needle or blood that their heart rate and blood pressure rises, and then drops rapidly, causing them to faint. The good news is that parents and caregivers can help children overcome their fears if they understand the best ways to offer support. Here’s how. (Heard-Garris, 10/26)
