Just over two months after starting Covid-19 vaccination for children ages 5 to 11 in the United States, less than two in ten are fully immunized against the virus.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of this Thursday (13), 5.1 million children in this range have completed the vaccine cycle against the coronavirus. There are, according to the last US census, 28.8 million people in this group. The number of vaccinated, therefore, is equivalent to 18.1% of the total.
The CDC also points out that children who took at least the first dose total 7.7 million (27.3% of the total).
Among age groups, the 5-11 age group is the most underrepresented in terms of vaccination in the US. Although they represent 8.7% of the American population, children in this range are only 2.5% of those with a complete immunization schedule.
Part of the difference is, of course, explained by the length of the campaign. The FDA, an American agency similar to Anvisa, which regulates drugs, approved the emergency use of Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine on October 29, 2021. Two days later, the application was released by the CDC, and children’s immunization began on December 3. .
At first, the pace was quickened. Within two weeks, nearly 10% of American children ages 5 to 11 had already received their first dose. According to Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House response to the pandemic, it took almost 50 days for adults to reach the same rate – vaccination in the country began in December 2020.
But then came the holidays and the holiday season, which added to the doubts and misinformation about the vaccine, so that immunization of children is now advancing slowly and unevenly in the US.
According to a survey by the Associated Press news agency, while the state of Vermont immunized 48% of its children, California, for example, vaccinated 19% and Mississippi barely passed 5%.
Experts interviewed by the American press say that the low rates of vaccination coverage are disturbing, and that parents who fail to vaccinate their children are not only taking enormous risks in relation to their health and social and school life, but also fueling the pandemic.
The US has been breaking records in the number of new infections, as well as hospitalizations, including children and adolescents.
In the 0 to 17 age group, for example, the hospitalization rate, which had reached its last peak in September, with 0.47 per 100,000 inhabitants in this age group, reached 1.2 last Tuesday (11 ). Compared to December 11, when the rate was 0.26, there was an increase of more than 360%.
Brazil started, this Friday (14), in a symbolic way in the state of São Paulo, the vaccination of children between 5 and 11 years old. States and the Federal District are already organizing themselves for the arrival of doses of the Pfizer vaccine and, despite recommendations from the Ministry of Health, they will adopt different application strategies.
Anvisa authorized the application of the immunizing agent on December 16. Vaccination of children was incorporated into the National Operational Plan on January 5th.
.
