Jul 7, 2022 - Health

Children under 5 getting vaccinated at slower pace than previous groups

Julia Shapero

A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to a 4-year-old child at the Brooklyn Children's Museum vaccination site. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Children under the age of 5 are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at a slower rate than other age groups, according to the AP.

Driving the news: About 300,000 children between 6 months and 5 years of age, or about 2% of the age group, have received the COVID-19 vaccine since it became available, CNN reported.

Fifteen percent of children ages 5 to 11 received the vaccine in the first three weeks after it was authorized, according to CNN.

Yes, but: U.S. officials expected vaccination to be slower among this age group, the AP noted.

Parents will likely prefer to take their children to pediatricians' offices to get the shot, according to the AP.
There is also greater hesitancy about the need to vaccinate children, who are less likely to develop severe illness or die from COVID-19, the AP noted.

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Children under 5 getting vaccinated at slower pace than previous groups

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