MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – State health officials say they support the CDC’s recommendation to give the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to children as young as six months old.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services Officials say they expect children between ages five and six months old to start receiving their vaccine doses later this week.
“”I know that we’re at a point in the pandemic where we all know someone who has had COVID, and maybe they experienced it as a cold or were asymptomatic entirely,” said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “The thing we really want to underscore for parents of children, whether that’s the five [years old] and up or now the five and under, is that COVID is not risk-free for children.”
According to DHS, more than 2,800 people under the age of 20 have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wisconsin since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition,15 people under the age of 20 have died from COVID-19 in Wisconsin.
“Just as a point of comparison, over the past two flu seasons, we’ve only had three deaths due to flu reported in that age group,” Timberlake said in response to a WTAQ News question. “Most children will do just fine if they do contract COVID-19. But it remains the case that vaccines are the very best way that any of us, and as parents, that we can provide that protection for our kids against serious illness…We’ll continue to keep all of the members of our families and our communities safe.”
To check for vaccine availability, click here or talk with your child’s pediatrician.
