More than 40 people in the United States have tested positive for the omicron variant, the CDC said Wednesday. Nearly all had only mild symptoms.
Measuring vaccination rates by first doses administered daily, researchers at KFF found that demand at first rose sharply — growing from 4 percent on Nov. 9 to 9.8 percent on Nov. 16.an estimated 16.7 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 had received at least one dose as of Sunday — representing some 4.8 million kids. Only 4.3 percent have completed the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech regimen.
As with adult vaccinations, rates starkly vary across regions. Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island have immunized at least 30 percent of children — the highest rates in the country. Meanwhile, most states with the lowest rates are in the South — including West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, where 6 percent, or less, of children have received the shot.
“Given the role parents play in vaccination decisions for their children, it is perhaps not surprising that many of the states with among the lowest vaccination rates for adults also have the lowest vaccine coverage for children,” the KFF researchers wrote. While the study does not delve into the underlying factors behind the variation, the organization’s coronavirus vaccine monitor polling — which tracks immunization attitude trends — found some hesitancy among parents. According to thepublished on Sept. 30, before the pediatric shot became available, 32 percent of parents of children ages 5 to 11 reported wanting to “wait and see” how the vaccine worked. Twenty-four percent said they definitely would not vaccinate their child.
Though children tend to — but not always — become less severely ill with covid-19 than adults, officials have urged vaccination as a measure to protect kids and maintain in-person classes in schools.