CINCINNATI — In what would be the last step in making the COVID-19 vaccine available to nearly the entire U.S. population, the Food and Drug Administration will meet June 15 to discuss the rollout of the vaccine for kids younger than five years old.
While hospitals across the state are preparing for it, some parents aren’t sure if they’re ready.
What You Need To Know
- President Joe Biden recently announced plans to roll out vaccines for children under five as early as next week
- The plan will need to be approved first by the CDC and FDA
- Once approved, doctors across the country will be able to administer the drug to the 19 million children under five
- While doctors are getting prepared for the vaccine, some parents have reservations about it
Jen Beck said she has been doing research of her own on the vaccine since the president announced his plans last week. While some parents have been eagerly awaiting the vaccine for their young children, Beck is not one of them.
Her daughter, Riley, who just turned six years old, is now eligible to get vaccinated, but Beck has concerns.
“For me, personally, I don’t want to give my daughter something that’s not tried and true, that’s not been longer-term tested and has shown side effects when there are so many ways to be healthy,” said Beck.
She said she’d like to see more research. She believes her daughter’s immune system can fight COVID-19 off well, because when Riley got COVID-19, her symptoms were so mild she didn’t even know she had it.
“She had a runny nose and a cough for like 24 to 36 hours and that was it. And not other side effects and she was fine,” she said.
Beck isn’t the only parent with concerns and reservations about the vaccine. A survey by KFF Monitoring found that most parents intend to wait before vaccinating their kids.
Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Emergency Physician Dr. Purva Grover has heard from parents with reservations.
“I think that apprehension is probably going to be our biggest hurdle in getting this to as many kids as we can,” said Grover.
Once the plan is by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, primary care doctors across the could offer the shots to the 19 million kids in the age group as soon as next week.
Dr. Grover said she and her team will be prepared, stocked and ready to go once they get the green light.
“It’s important because the little ones are especially more geared towards getting taken care of by grandparents, older siblings and other people around,” she said. “So making sure they are protected and the communities around them.”
As for Beck, she said she has no plans of getting her daughter the vaccine soon and will continue to build her daughter’s immune system to fight off the virus.
“We can do things proactively to be able to help build her immune system with things like making sure she eats her fruit and vegetables, decreasing the amount of sugar she takes in and drinking more water, and bumping more vitamin D and C during the winter,” she said.
