GREEN BAY, Wis. — More than two years after the first cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., the country is now over one of the last hurdles when it comes to vaccinating the youngest Americans.

What You Need To Know

  • The FDA authorized the first vaccines for children younger than 5

  • A local expert said kids have been more effected by COVID-19 variants than the original virus

  • The CDC reports only a little more than 29% of children ages 5-11 are fully vaccinated

The FDA authorized the first vaccines for children under five. The Moderna shots were approved for children six months to five years, and Pfizer’s for six months to four years.

This was the last group in the U.S. not yet eligible for vaccination. The CDC still has to sign off on the vaccines before they can go into arms.

There are roughly 18 million children in this younger age group.

Dr. Robert Mead, a family physician with Bellin Health, said a lot of parents have been anxiously waiting for this. He told us kids have been more affected with COVID-19 variants than earlier on in the pandemic.

“Another thing that’s coming out is there has been some serious liver injury to children they’re now attributing to COVID, and there has been a big outbreak of that throughout the country,” Mead said, for anyone on the fence about whether to vaccinate this age group.

According to Dr. Mead, kids are prolific spreaders of the virus.

“Getting them vaccinated is really important to control COVID-19, just like other things, like influenza,” he noted.

In the 5-11 age group, the CDC reports a little more than 29% of those children are fully vaccinated.