Doctors warn of low COVID-19 vaccine uptake among youngest children

Suburban doctors are warning that lingering hesitancy by parents to vaccinate younger children against COVID-19 could lead to higher infection rates and leave those children susceptible to more severe medical outcomes from the respiratory ailment.

“We know that COVID is not affecting children to the extent it has older people, but there is still a threat posed there and there are also medical issues that can result from an infection later in children,” said Dr. Michael Cappello, vice chairman of pediatrics at Advocate Children's Hospital in Park Ridge. “The vaccine has shown to be the best way to reduce infections and keep those who take it from hospitalization and death.”

Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report a little more than 544,000 children under the age of 5 have received at least one dose of the vaccine since it became available to that age group last month. That's less than 3% of the estimated 23 million children in that group.

Lifting mask mandates and other restrictions has made many parents complacent, Cappello suggested.

“The virus is still out there and the subvariants going around now are highly contagious,” he said.

Just this week alone, both Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and President Joe Biden both announced they had been infected with COVID-19 and were experiencing mild symptoms.

Cappello said parents shouldn't wait until the start of the school year to get young children vaccinated. He also noted research has indicated it's safe for children to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at the same time they receive other vaccinations recommended for that age group.

Illinois Department of Public Health officials acknowledge uptake of the vaccine has been slow for children under the age of 5 as well as children between the ages of 5 and 11. Just 37.5% of children between 5 and 11 are fully vaccinated, according to IDPH records.

IDPH officials also reported Friday another 52 deaths from the virus over the past week, as well as another 32,268 new infections during that time as well.

The state's COVID-19 death toll is now at 34,309, while 3,528,282 infections have been recorded since the outset of the pandemic.

IDPH officials are also reporting 1,453 patients were hospitalized with the virus, up just 2% from a week ago.

Of those currently hospitalized, 145 are in ICU beds. That's down 4.6% from a week ago.

The CDC is reporting more than half the state's 102 counties are rated at high risk community level, which means hospitalizations are increasing and new infections are being recorded in excess of 200 per 100,000 residents over the past week. In all, 58 counties in Illinois are listed at high.