As booster shots for children are authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with COVID cases rising across the country and state of Illinois, how many children are already vaccinated against the virus?
The Illinois Department of Public Health has been tracking metrics across the state.
As of Friday, data showed over 60% of Illinois children between the ages of 12 and 17 are fully vaccinated, while just 36% of those between the ages of 5 and 11 have completed a series.
Meanwhile, advisers to the U.S. government said Thursday that kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention quickly adopted the panel’s recommendation, opening a third COVID-19 shot to healthy elementary-age kids — just like what is already recommended for everybody 12 and older.
The hope is that an extra shot will shore up protection for kids ages 5 to 11 as infections once again are on the rise.
“Vaccination with a primary series among this age group has lagged behind other age groups leaving them vulnerable to serious illness,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in a statement.
The U.S. now is averaging 100,000 new cases a day for the first time since February. And ultimately, the CDC's advisers pointed to growing evidence from older kids and adults that two primary vaccinations plus a booster are providing the best protection against the newest coronavirus variants.
“This always perhaps should have been a three-dose vaccine,” said Dr. Grace Lee of Stanford University, who chairs the CDC’s advisory panel.
The booster question isn't the hottest vaccine topic: Parents still are anxiously awaiting a chance to vaccinate kids under 5 — the only group not yet eligible in the U.S.
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The Food and Drug Administration has begun evaluating data from Moderna, which hopes to begin offering two kid-sized shots by summer.
On Monday, Pfizer announced three doses of its vaccine offer strong protection for children younger than 5. Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest kids get the shots.
But even if that happens, the question remains over how many parents will choose to vaccinate their children.
“We really are hoping to increase the rates of especially 5-11 years old," said Dr. Jacqueline Korpics, a pediatrician with Cook County Health. "And soon we’re going to have vaccine for less than 5, so we’re hoping we’re going to see a lot more kids getting vaccinated.”
Here's a breakdown of the vaccination numbers in the Chicago area for children between the ages of 5 and 17, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Illinois (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 – 40.38% at least one dose of vaccine, 36.40% completed a vaccine series
Age 12-17 –67.67% at least one dose of vaccine, 62.30% completed a vaccine series
Chicago (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 – 53.96% at least one dose of vaccine, 47.22% completed a vaccine series
Age 12-17 – 90.18% at least one dose of vaccine, 81.02% completed a vaccine series
DuPage County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5 to 11: 53.90% have at least one dose of vaccine; 50.28% have completed a primary vaccine series
Age 12 to 17: 79.41% have at least one dose of vaccine; 74.65% have completed a primary vaccine series
Will County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 38.51 at least one dose, 35.30% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 67.51% at least one dose, 62.85% completed primary vaccine series
Lake County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 52.63 at least one dose, 48.20% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 80.77 at least one dose, 75.17% completed primary vaccine series
McHenry County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 36.60% at least one dose, 34.03% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 61.45% at least one dose, 57.91% completed primary vaccine series
Suburban Cook County (as of 5/16/2022)
For residents aged 5 to 11: 46.2% have at least one dose of vaccine; 36.5% have completed a vaccine series.
For residents aged 12 to 15: 74.4% have at least one dose of vaccine; 52.7% have completed a vaccine series.
For residents aged 16 to 18: 82.9% have at least one dose of vaccine; 58.6% have completed a vaccine series.
Source: Cook County Department of Public Health
DeKalb County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 31.58% at least one dose, 29.02% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 58.47% at least one dose, 54.79% completed primary vaccine series
Kendall County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 39.33% at least one dose, 36.33% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 74.22% at least one dose, 69.82% completed primary vaccine series
Kane County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 37.98% at least one dose, 34.61% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 66.82% at least one dose, 62.51% completed primary vaccine series
Grundy County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 23.47% at least one dose, 21.08% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 50.49% at least one dose, 46.36% completed primary vaccine series
LaSalle County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 25.67% at least one dose, 21.21% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 48.74% at least one dose, 46% completed primary vaccine series
Kankakee County (as of 5/20/2022)
Age 5-11 18.81% at least one dose, 16.88% completed primary vaccine series
Age 12-17 40.74% at least one dose, 38.05% completed primary vaccine series
