With the rise of new COVID-19 infections, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) urged parents to get routine vaccinations for their children.
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report showed that during the 2020-21 school year, 94 percent of children had received all the required vaccines, about 1 percent lower than the previous school year. In California, the decrease was about 0.3 percent.
“The pandemic changed everyone's everyday life and reminded us of the value of vaccinations when we are up against a new virus,'' said Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer. “It also reminds us of the importance of routine childhood vaccinations to keep children healthy”.
“Parents should make sure their children have all the recommended vaccines to protect them,'' Wooten said.
California Health Laws require that all students under age 18 years, pre-kindergarten through grade 12, be immunized against certain diseases unless they are exempt for medical reasons. Different grade levels require different vaccines.
San Diego County reported at least 82.8 percent of residents 5-years or older are fully vaccinated, and about 94.3 percent received a full dose. According to the most recent data released Monday, there are 304 new COVID-19 infections, escalating the cumulative total infections to 757,919.
The death toll remained at 5,236.
Individuals ages five and older are eligible for Pfizer-BioNTech and 18 years of age and older for Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. Nearly 18 million children under the age of five are still waiting on the vaccine until it becomes available.
According to a chief medical adviser to President Biden, Anthony Fauci in a press conference last week, the US Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to consider emergency use authorization for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for young children at the same time, rather than considering them separately.
In February, Pfizer-BioNTech announced postponed their rolling application to the FDA for two-dose COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 6 months to 4 years. However, the vaccine was not able to generate a strong-enough immune response in a clinical trial for children ages 2 to 4.
Moderna announced plans to file a submission to the FDA for the youngest age group by the end of the month.
