Vaccination rates remain low in Children Under 5 Years Old as Hospitalizations Rise
COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 are safe and effective, but only 3.4% of children under 2 and 5.7% of children ages 2-4 have gotten at least one dose. During the recent surge in cases, more than 100 children under 5 were hospitalized per week. Hospitalizations in this age group remain high, as the latest weekly report shows 80 children were hospitalized with the virus. Dr. Kathryn Moffett, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at West Virginia University Medicine Children’s Hospital, emphasized that “there is a child every day dying of COVID in the U.S.” For young children and infants, she said, “the main reason they get admitted with COVID is for fever, dehydration and trouble breathing”. Pfizer data shows the vaccine to be 73% effective at preventing infection in this age group.