‘Strong ’ start for kids, but challenges loom

Parental misperceptions may slow rate, officials say

The campaign to vaccinate elementary school age children in the U.S. is off to a strong start, health officials said Wednesday, but experts say there are signs that it will be difficult to sustain the initial momentum.

About 900,000 children ages 5 to 11 will have received their first dose of the COVID -19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility, the White House said, providing the first glimpse at the pace of the school-aged vaccination campaign.

“We’re off to a very strong start,” said White House COVID -19 coordinator Jeff Zients, during a briefing with reporters.

Final clearance for the shots was granted by federal regulators Nov. 2, with the first doses to kids beginning in some locations the following day.

The estimated increase in vaccinations in elementary school age children appears similar to a jump seen in May, when adolescents ages 12 to 15 became eligible for shots.

Now nearly 20,000 pharmacies, clinics and physicians’ offices are offering the doses to younger kids, and the Biden administration estimates that by the end of Wednesday more than 900,000 of the kid doses will have been given. On top of that, about 700,000 first-shot appointments are scheduled for the coming days.

About 28 million 5- to 11-year-olds are now eligible for the low-dose Pfizer vaccine. Kids who get their first of two shots by the end of next week will be fully vaccinated by Christmas.

The administration is encouraging schools to host vaccine clinics on site to make it even easier for kids to get shots. The White House is also asking schools to share information from “trusted messengers” like doctors and public health officials to combat misinformation around the vaccines.

A initial surge in demand for vaccinations was expected from parents who have been waiting for the chance to protect their younger kids.

About 3 percent of newly eligible children in the U.S. got first shots in the first week, but the rate of vaccinations varied widely around the country, as it has for adult vaccines.

Some experts say that nationally, demand could begin to recede soon.

Part of the reason is that adults are far more likely than children to suffer serious illness or die from COVID -19, they noted. “Parents may have the perception it may not be as serious in young children or they don’t transmit it,” said Shannon Stokley, the acting deputy director of the CDC’S Immunization Services Division.

But more than 2 million COVID cases have been reported in U.S. children ages 5 to 11 since the pandemic started, including 66 deaths over the past year, according to CDC data.