Eighteen months after a New York nurse received the first coronavirus vaccine in the United States, the vaccines became available Tuesday to millions of children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, the last group of Americans to receive this protection. Pediatricians, pharmacies, hospitals and community vaccination centers have started giving the first doses of two vaccines to children: Pfizer-BioNTech to children 6 months to 4 years of age. and the Moderna vaccine in children 6 months to 5 years of age. Some parents rushed to get the vaccine early Tuesday morning. In Washington, Qinmei Hegde’s 14-month-old daughter, Anta, was the first child to be shot Tuesday morning at National Children’s Hospital. It spun as the needle was inserted, but it was not as bad as the usual injections. “The last time we came here he ended up receiving five shots the same day,” Hegde said. “I think the fact that there was only one was like, ‘Oh well, good deal.’ ” At a city-run coronavirus center on U Street, a string of parents and strollers reached the corner as Asia Perazich waited with her 3-year-old son Mica and 1-year-old daughter Zia. “I wish it had happened earlier,” Perazic said as Mika popped up in a watercolor book. “It would be nice to be able to take them to a restaurant and not worry.” In Houston, Jim Versalovic, chief physician at Texas Children’s Hospital, said: “We started vaccinating our first children at 6 in the morning. Now we have shots in the hands. We have hundreds of children in a row and our goal is to give this vaccine to thousands of children in the greater Houston and Texas area. “Children handle it just as well or better than adults,” he added. President Biden spoke at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, describing the development affecting up to 19 million children across the country as “a very historic milestone, a monumental step forward”. He said the United States is now the first country to offer a vaccine to children up to six months old and urged parents to vaccinate their children. Biden had earlier visited a city-run coronavirus center where children were being vaccinated. Nancy Wyss from Chicago said she has an appointment to vaccinate her 3-year-old daughter next week. Wyss said she was waiting at this time for her daughter’s “health and protection” so the family could feel safer when she visited the girl’s grandparents. Wyss said the vaccine would also help “my logic”. Wyss said her daughter’s daycare is currently closed if a child or teacher is infected with the coronavirus. Once the children are vaccinated, they will keep the center open if necessary. The vaccine will also alleviate Wyss’ concerns about flights. “We are going on a trip in early August, so it makes us more comfortable to fly with her and see her grandparents. It is exciting. “We have been waiting for a long time,” he said. For parents who have been Looking forward to vaccinating their children, Tuesday marked the end of a long, difficult period in which infants, toddlers, and preschoolers did not have access to vaccines that have been shown to be extremely effective in preventing death and hospitalization for the rest of the population. But a May poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor found it to be a separate minority. Eighteen percent of parents with children under the age of 5 said they were willing to have their children vaccinated immediately. More than a third of parents – 38 percent – said they planned to see the vaccine work in other children, and 27 percent said they “certainly will not vaccinate” their children. 11 percent said they would do it if needed. The research was conducted before the Food and Drug Administration found the vaccines safe and effective for younger children and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave them the green light on Saturday. At some point, there was an initial rush for an appointment. “It’s only been about 24 hours since the vaccine was delivered and our call center has been flooded with phone calls about getting the vaccine,” said Mary Zimmerman, a nurse and vaccination specialist at Spectrum Health in Michigan. In New York, there was a one-day delay as vaccine sites awaited final approval from the state Department of Health. Matthew Harris, a pediatric emergency physician at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens and medical director of the coronavirus vaccine program at Northwell Health, said vaccinations for children under 5 in New York would likely begin Wednesday. Florida, which refused to pre-order a vaccine until Governor Ron DeSadis (R)’s administration stepped down and allowed doctors to request it on Friday, is unlikely to see any vaccines until later this week, according to the State Department of Health. . The state government, which does not recommend the vaccine for healthy children, was the only one in the country that did not pre-order the vaccine. Biden said on Tuesday that “elected officials should not interfere and make it more difficult” for parents who want to see their children vaccinated. “This is not the time for politics” About 13.5 million children have been tested positive for the virus, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, offering some protection against the virus. According to federal health data analyzed by blood tests, the number is even higher – by the end of February it showed that 3 out of 4 children nationwide were infected with the coronavirus. Monitoring of coronavirus cases However, health authorities say that all children should be vaccinated, because it is the best way to provide children with ongoing protection and reduce the chances of other infections and complications. Children are less likely than other people in other age groups to become seriously infected with the virus, but they are not invulnerable. More than 1,000 have died, more than 40,000 have been hospitalized and more than 8,500 have suffered from a condition called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), which can cause inflammation of the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, eyes and other organs. , According to the CDC. Houston’s parent, Brittany Krueger, said Tuesday she would not vaccinate her children. “My kids had covid and the only reason we knew it was because we had it. So we tried them. “They did not show symptoms, like the majority of the children we know,” he said. “I feel that my children, at their age, have a very low risk of side effects from Covid. In fact, I’m more afraid of what a newer market plan would do in the long run. “ But Amisha Vakil, who has 3-year-old twins, Jiyan and Kian, one of whom is at high risk awaiting a heart transplant, was at the Texas Children’s Hospital at 6:30 p.m. to vaccinate both children. “Getting both of my children vaccinated today means a lot to us, especially to give Jian this shield, a little armor,” he said. “For two years we were almost in quarantine,” he added. “We could not send them to kindergarten or other activities. “Kian stayed home, too, because he can bring something with him.” Monitoring of the coronavirus vaccine Nearly 67 percent of the U.S. population is vaccinated – a rate that has just risen in recent months despite the efforts of government and private health officials. The virus has killed more than 1 million Americans, the largest known total of any nation in the world. At Seattle Children’s Hospital, parents and their children stood outside the vaccination room for 15 minutes. Some children had just said their first words, and others ran anxiously up and down the aisles. The hospital was ready. Seattle Storm Doppler mascot has arrived to give children a 7 foot, red and yellow, shaggy distraction. Erin Murphy, who was in the hospital with her 3-year-old son, said protection from the coronavirus prevented him from attending his great-grandfather’s funeral and he stayed home with his father. Now, the boy has been reunited with his family to get vaccinated, and he has evidence to prove it. “Everyone took a picture when they were vaccinated and now he has his own,” Murphy said. Edwin Lido, who teaches critical race theory at the University of Washington School of Medicine, was among the first to consider vaccinating his two young children as a step against the inequalities exposed by the pandemic. When his 8-month-old son became infected two months ago, “It was scary,” he said. Lido brought the baby to the hospital during his illness – and brought it back on Tuesday for vaccination. “This is our way of fighting and saying that we will not become a product of racist heritage, we will not succumb to being statistics. “We will live another day to fight, so that we can really change the results of our community,” Lido said. Mark Del Beccaro, assistant assistant chief of coronavirus testing and immunization programs at the Seattle and King County Public Health Bureau, said he expected vaccinations for young children to increase next month and then stop as more families hesitated. with effects on younger children. King County is one of the most vaccinated counties in the United States. “It’s a great time to get vaccinated, so that people can worry less about family reunions and just as important be prepared for the fall, when everyone will be driven in again,” said Del Becaro. Katie Shepherd in Washington, DC Mark Guarino in Chicago, Ken Hoffman in Houston, Barbara Liston in Orlando, Ian Morse in Seattle and Jack Wright in New York contributed to this exhibition.
