Los Angeles California.- Latino and African American children under the age of 5 in Los Angeles County have the lowest vaccination rates against COVID-19.
According to the Los Angeles County Immunization Chart only 12% of children between 6 months and 4 years have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and only 7% are fully vaccinated.
The medical concern in Los Angeles County is that only 5% of Latino and African-American children have received at least one dose, compared to 22% of Asian children and almost 19% of white children.
And those numbers are generalized according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDCwhich indicated that, at the end of 2022, only 10% of children between 6 months and 4 years of age nationwide had received at least one dose of the vaccine and only 5% were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to the CDC, there have been nearly 3.5 million cases of COVID-19 among children under the age of 5 and 689 deaths from the virus in that group.
According to the report, low rates nationwide among young children could cause challenges for vaccination coverage in the future, especially considering that bivalent boosters are licensed for this pediatric population, and Added to this is public health officials ending pandemic precautions.
AltaMed’s director of medical affairs, Dr. Ilan Shapiro, assures that these low figures are due to misinformation about the efficacy of the vaccine “many times parents say it is better to wait and see what happens with the side effects and let time pass, and another factor that Hispanics face is having to take their children to vaccination clinics because they would lose a day of work or having to organize a nursery, those logistics represented the biggest obstacle for families when it came to vaccinating their young children.”
For her part last week, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer indicated that they are urging health providers who work with children and families to talk about the importance of vaccines and emphasize that they are safe. for small children.
Are the COVID-19 vaccines for children safe?
Vaccination data ye Clinical trials show that children as young as 6 months of age can be vaccinated without risk. However, the dose is lower than that of an adult to ensure that it is safe for better protection
Vaccines prevent severity
A CDC report showed that the efficacy rate of two-dose vaccination is between 73% and 94% in preventing COVID-associated hospitalization in children from 5 to 17 years of age, suggesting that the vaccine works well in preventing severe illness and death in children.
Vaccine Side Effects
Side effects include tiredness, headache, malaise, chills, and fever, however, existing studies show that children generally had milder side effects than did adolescents and adults.
Most of these effects are mild and usually go away on their own after a day or two.. Mild side effects are a normal sign that the body is building up defenses and are common with other routine childhood immunizations as well.
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What are the options for my children?
Pfizer’s vaccine is licensed for children 6 months to under 5 years of age, and Moderna’s vaccine is licensed for children 6 months to under 6 years of age.
What is the difference between the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines?
Pediatricians recommend families vaccinate their children with any available brand, in this case both vaccines are safe and effective because they offer an important layer of protection to lower the risk of severe symptoms in childrenhospitalization and death from COVID.
Children can receive routine immunizations at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine
Your child can safely receive other routine vaccines on the same day they are immunized against COVID-19.
How can I continue to protect my young child from a coronavirus infection?
– You can protect your little one by avoiding crowds and keeping a safe distance from other people when you are out of the house.
– Avoid sick people.
– Wash your hands often and properly, and teach your children the same.
– Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects.
– If you are sick, wear a mask when you are at home. Try to limit contact with your child until his symptoms have resolved.
– keep him up to date with his vaccine boosters.
In short, vaccines have been approved on the assumption that their benefits outweigh their risks, and so far there have been no deaths associated with any of the vaccines in the trials. Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer adds, “Millions of young children have been vaccinated, so I encourage parents to have that conversation with their health care provider.”