As the nationwide rollout of vaccines to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic drags on, a concerning situation is beginning to develop in the United States: parents of young children are finding it increasingly difficult to get their children vaccinated due to a lack of availability of the booster shots.
The COVID-19 Booster is a critical component of the nationwide vaccine rollout; these boosters are a series of doses of the vaccine designed to protect children aged 12 and under. In the United States, most booster clinics are administered through local health departments, and while all states are legally bound to open up boosters to young children, it appears that the clinics are running into the same supply problems that the rest of the country has been dealing with since the beginning of the vaccine rollout.
This has proven to be a major problem for many parents, many of whom are now finding themselves in a difficult position: either wait for weeks, or longer, for a booster appointment or have their children wait even longer to be vaccinated. Unfortunately, for those young children that have not been able to receive their booster shots, they are subject to an increased risk of infection and long-term health effects from the disease.
The lack of available booster shots for young children is becoming an increasingly colonial problem as the country stares down a fourth surge in the pandemic. Even with the Biden Administration’s ambitious goal of having 70 percent of adults in the US fully vaccinated by July 4, it is unlikely that the booster shot program will move at the same speed.
To ensure that all children are able to get the protection they need, state health departments need to focus their funding and resources on providing booster shots in order to ensure that the country’s youngest citizens are not left behind in the midst of the pandemic. With the vaccine rollout in its sixth month, it’s time to prioritize the health and wellbeing of our children by making sure they have access to the vital booster shot they need to stay safe.
