Enlarge / Reisa Lancaster RN, left, administers the Covid-19 vaccine to 14 month old Ada Hedge, center, being comforted by mom Sarah Close and dad Chinmay Hedge, right at Children's National Research and Innovation Campus, in Washington, DC. (credit: Getty | The Washington Post, Bill O'Leary)
The Food and Drug Administration has greenlit updated COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under the age of 5, but the change to the authorized vaccination regimens is far from straightforward. This may further hamstring efforts to vaccinate the youngest Americans, which are already off to an abysmal start.
After months of availability, only about 3 percent of infants and toddlers 6 months to 2 years old have completed a primary series. Just 6.5 percent have gotten at least one shot, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For those aged 2 to 4 years, just under 5 percent have completed a primary series, with 9 percent having gotten at least one dose.
It was back in June when the FDA authorized—and the CDC endorsed—small doses of both Moderna's and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months old.
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