Doctors, public health experts and community members who work on vaccine outreach say they hear a range of concerns from parents.
First grader Jesiah Flagg, 7, tears up while as he's comforted by his parents before getting his COVID-19 vaccination at the Chicago Public Schools vaccine clinic at Carver Elementary School in Chicago's Altgeld Murray Homes on May 19, 2022.
In October, the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in children 5 to 11, but vaccine rates for the youngest eligible age group are lagging, raising concern among pediatricians and infectious disease experts. Doctors, public health experts and community members who work on vaccine outreach say they hear a range of concerns from parents, some rooted in misinformation, others in systemic racism from the medical community that has resulted in distrust. Some parents told the Tribune they didn’t vaccinate their children, even though they themselves are vaccinated, expressing a range of fears.
The city’s lowest rate of vaccination for children falls in a ZIP code that covers much of the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side, with 23% of eligible children recorded as fully vaccinated, according to the data. Other communities falling in ZIP codes with vaccination rates at or under 25% include South Austin, Englewood and South Shore.
Statewide, Chicago as a whole outperforms Cook County and the rest of Illinois, with 54% of children with at least one dose. Cook County lags behind DuPage and Lake, with nearly 47% of children with at least one dose, compared to DuPage’s 54% and Lake’s 53%.IDPH said in a statement that it is “closely tracking” vaccinations for all age groups.
To parents who are concerned about the newness of the vaccine, Caskey points out the overall RNA vaccine technology has been around for a long time. He said manufacturers could make it easier for pediatricians to administer the vaccine in their offices, a setting that engenders greater trust and comfort for many parents. The storage requirements make it difficult for some pediatrician offices to have vaccines ready for patients, as they don’t always have the cold storage capacity, or enough patients to make preparing multidose vials worthwhile if all won’t be used in a given day.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
COVID-19 cases trend upwards: What are the current CDC rules for isolatingHealth officials say the current dominant strain of coronavirus is a subvariant of Omicron – it’s not as mild as the original Omicron and is rampant in the northeastern United States.
Read more »
Philadelphia School District's Mask Mandate Goes Back Into Effect On Monday As COVID-19 Cases RiseBeginning on Monday, thousands of students will begin masking-up again. The spike in COVID-19 cases is leading some school districts to bring back their mask mandates, including the Philadelphia School District. KerriCorrado reports.
Read more »
3 Air Force cadets who refused COVID-19 vaccine won't be commissionedA fourth cadet who had refused the vaccine until about a week ago decided to be vaccinated and will graduate and become an Air Force officer.
Read more »
Arizona governor OK’s ban on school COVID-19 vaccinesArizona’s Republican governor has signed legislation that will prevent state health officials from ever adding a COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required school inoculations and bar face mask mandates in any buildings operated by state or local governments.
Read more »
COVID-19, shootings: Is mass death now tolerated in America?After mass shootings killed people grocery shopping and going to church, the nation marked a milestone of 1 million deaths from COVID. The sheer numbers of deaths from preventable causes raises the question: Has mass death become accepted in America?
Read more »
Study: Estrogen may help women's COVID-19 survival ratesUK researchers looked at women who received hormone replacement therapy six months after they were diagnosed with coronavirus.
Read more »