Vaccine providers in Louisiana are prepping to schedule appointments for children ages six months and older who are now eligible for the COVID vaccines after the FDA gave emergency use authorization last week. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter said he can’t overstate the importance of having children vaccinated against COVID.
“Children under five are at a higher risk for hospitalization for COVID-19 than our older children. Half of the hospitalizations for our kids due to COVID that we’ve had in our state have been children younger than the age of five,” said Kanter.
Since March 2020, 21 children have died as a result of COVID.
Kanter said 175 providers in the state have ordered 26- thousand COVID vaccine doses for children.
In Louisiana, there are 281,000 children ages six months to five years and Kanter said 200,000 of those children are covered by Medicaid. For this age group, he said the Moderna vaccine is a two-dose series, and the Pfizer vaccine consists of three doses.
“Both of these vaccines are completely acceptable, we make so specific recommendation or one of these over the other,” said Kanter.
The Louisiana Department of Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics along with the Louisiana chapter are recommending COVID vaccines for children including those under the age of five. President of the state chapter Dr. Rachel Chatters said parents should speak with their pediatricians about their child’s health and not assume rumors against vaccines are true.
“These claims on social media, among family even, among friends and other members of our community have been mostly what they are, unfounded claims,” said Chatters.
Parents are encouraged to contact their pediatrician for a COVID vaccine or visit the Louisiana Department of Health’s website for a nearby provider.
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