A senior White House official told CNN on Thursday, July 7, that approximately 300,000 children under the age of 5 in the United States had received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine since it was recommended last month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
That is about 2 percent of that age group, which the official says aligned with their expectations. That figure is lower than other age groups, though. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency use authorization for both the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines for young children on June 17.
According to the official, Thursday's data is predicated on a couple of things, particularly how parents tend to make these decisions. The official said that the overwhelming majority want to vaccinate their kids in the family provider's or pediatrician's office, and about half say they prefer to do that during annual wellness or routine visit. So that is how they are used to vaccinating their children.
White House official expects the number to grow in the coming months
Vaccine advisers to the CDC voted unanimously to support recommending COVID-19 vaccination for children as young as six months on June 18. The rollout began shortly after that, according to NBC News.
The senior official added that the administration expects that number to grow over the following months as families complete those annual check-ups. The COVID vaccinations for the 6-month-to-5-year-old age group are behind the pace of the 5-to-11-year-old age bracket in the same time frame, which the senior official attributed to demographic differences in these age groups.
The official said they expected this to be a little bit slower even than 5 to 11, which was slower than 12 to 17, which was slower than adults. It is just kind of what they anticipated and what they prepared for.
Parents are taking a wait-and-see approach
In the three weeks following the authorization of COVID vaccines for the 5-to-11 age bracket, 15 percent of that population had gotten at least one shot, compared with just 2 percent of the 6-months-to-5-years group. Officials had previously warned that the country's youngest would be slower to adopt COVID-19 vaccines once they are eligible, according to ABC News.
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters last month that when looking at this vaccination program for the littlest Americans, it will feel a little different than the vaccination programs they have run before. He said that is because they know parents will be turning to their pediatricians and their family physicians.
Dr. Sean O'Leary, the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in an interview that it is too early to judge the rollout's success for the young age group as the campaign is still getting ramped up.
