Pfizer vaccine for young children, poll of parents on vaccinations, and children losing a parent or caretaker.
Three important stories have come out concerning children under 18, and vaccinations for young children 5-11 inclusive.
- Pfizer asking the FDA and CDC for emergency approval to 5-11 year olds with a child dose of 1/3 the adult amount. The meeting is on October 26, and the company is ready for a rapid distribution after that, to drug stores and doctor’s offices. The dose is safe and effective.
- A Gallup poll shows that 55% of parents are willing to get their child vaccinated while 45% are not. 82% of fulling vaccinated parents said yes, while of unvaccinated parents, only 19% said yes. Children from 5-11 inclusive are about 9% of the US population, or 28 million. By political identity, 83% of Democrats said yes, 50% of Independents said yes, but only 21% of Republicans said yes. So far, 75% of adults 18 or older have been vaccinated, but 70 million still are not. More than half of those 16-18, but less than half of those 12-15 inclusive have been vaccinated.
- A study in the Pediatrics Journal shows that over 142,000 US children have lost a parent or caregiver from March 2020 through June 2021. They need support in general, but also to prevent dropping out of school, violent behavior, or depression. Those affected are strongly weighted to ethnic and racial minorities.
Of the affected children, 35% are white, while 65% are racial or ethnic minorities. Yet white children are 61% of that population, and minorities are only 39% of the population. Comparing the ratios of affected to total, we see the relative probability of a child being affected in these groups.
For whites, 35/61 = 0.57. For minorities, 65/39 = 1.67. Taking the minority to white ratio gives 1.67/0.57 = 2.92. So a minority child is three times as likely to be affected as a white child.
One out of 515 US children have been affected. Following is the ratio affected for different minorities, and the ratio compared to the white majority. We shorten American Indian/Alaska Native to Native.
Minority Ratio Ratio to White
Native 1/165 4.56 x
Black 1/310 2.43 x
Hispanic 1/412 1.83 x
Asian 1/612 1.23 x
White 1/753 1
