ST. LOUIS — After years of waiting, kids under the age of 5 can finally get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Both the CDC and FDA signed off on Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines for kids ages six months old and up.
Gur Kaur, a mom of three little ones, said getting all of her kids vaccinated against COVID-19 has been a priority.
“For me as a mom going out in public and being safe with your kids that's more important,” Kaur said.
Kaur said she was able to get her 5-year-old vaccinated just recently.
“Now that she's vaccinated at least with her we have the peace of mind sending her to preschool. She'll be starting kindergarten so there's a piece of mind definitely,” Kaur said.
Moms like Kaur and Brandi Smith said they're going to get their young children vaccinated right away so their kids can truly be kids.
“For a while it was just kind of ghost town-ish everywhere and everybody was just scared, so yeah, definitely, because they like to go outside especially this one,” Smith said.
For Smith's son, AJ, it's important so he can get out this summer.
“I want to go to the park with my friends,” AJ Smith said.
Dr. Farrah Greye said illness always spreads quickly through kids, making vaccination so important now that transmission has gone up.
“Their immune system may not be as strong as us adults are because we, as adults, we've already seen flu and other viruses,” Greye said.
Greye said parents should add this to the list of vaccines kids will need to get and recommends discussing it with their pediatrician.
“The benefits definitely outweigh the complications and things that may happen with COVID. And we don't want that for our children, so I think, more than anything, we've seen that it is benefiting our children,” Greye said.
The Associated Press reports that roughly 18 million kids will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, but it remains to be seen how many will actually get the vaccines. Less than a third of children ages 5 to 11 have done so since vaccination opened up to them in November 2021.
The CDC said young kids may be able to get vaccinated as soon as this upcoming week, but it is best to check with your child's pediatrician for availability.
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