COVID-19 vaccines for children are available and safe but parents worry about the kids' COVID vaccine side effects and more. Doctors want kids 5-11 vaccinated.
The low rates are “very disturbing,” said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director for the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “It’s just amazing.”Parents who hesitate “are taking an enormous risk and continuing to fuel the pandemic,” Murphy said.
The low vaccination rates and rising hospitalizations are “a gut punch, especially when we’ve been working so hard to keep these kids well,” said Dr. Natasha Burgert, a pediatrician in Overland Park, Kansas. Snowstorms, tornadoes and other heavy weather in December are believed to have slowed the pace of vaccination in the U.S., along with the busy holiday season. Still, many parents have other concerns.