U.S. Covid Vaccines Start to Roll Out for Young Children

Sumber: Reuters | Editor: Thomas Hadiwinata

KONTAN.CO.ID - WASHINGTON. The United States has begun distributing Covid vaccines for children as young as six months around the country, and availability of the shots will improve in the coming days, according to White House Covid-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha.

U.S. regulators authorized Moderna Inc's two-dose vaccine for children aged six months to five years and the Pfizer-BioNTech three-shot regimen for children aged six months to four years late last week.

It is unclear how many parents will vaccinate their youngest children.

Just one-in-five parents with children under age five said they intended to vaccinate them "right away" after they become eligible, a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation published in May showed.

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Only about 29% of children aged five to 11 have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine since it was authorized in October, according to U.S. data.

Chinmay Hegde, father of a 14-month old daughter, told Reuters outside Children's National Hospital in Washington that the U.S. authorization was a huge relief. His daughter was the first to be vaccinated at the hospital on Tuesday.

"I feel like we can just now go travel and do our trips without feeling as much stress," he said, mentioning a planned family reunion in Canada in July.

Children who begin their vaccinations with the Pfizer shot this week could receive their third dose the week of Sept. 12 or later. Those who receive a first Moderna shot this week could complete their inoculation as soon as July 19.