Young Utah children aren't getting COVID vaccines

• It's been more than a month since vaccines were released for kids ages 6 months to 4 years old.

Why it matters: Vaccines are an important step to preventing kids from getting seriously ill, said Dr. Andy Pavia, an infectious diseases specialist for Primary Children's Hospital.

• During the winter omicron spike, COVID accounted for 15% of all ER visits for children, Pavia said in a news conference in June.
• Children under 5 were hospitalized for COVID at higher rates than older kids — likely because they weren't yet vaccine-eligible, Pavia said.

By the numbers: It took less than one week for 4% of Utah kids ages 5 to 11 to get vaccinated.

• More than 4% of those 12 to 18 were vaccinated less than a week after the state opened vaccinations to patients younger than 50 — even though only 16 to 18-year-olds were eligible.

How it works: State health officials have pushed to have pediatricians give COVID shots to the youngest children, along with their other immunizations.

• But if you want to get your kids vaccinated elsewhere, check vaccines.gov for a map of pharmacies and providers that are carrying the shots.

The Salt Lake County Health Department provides vaccines by appointment to young children, free of charge.