LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — On Wednesday, the White House released its plan for vaccinating young people, saying it has enough doses to vaccinate 28 million kids between 5 and 11 years old.
Becki O’Donnell is a Las Vegas valley mother of a 6-year-old. She says when she found out the White House released these plans she was sick to her stomach.
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“It makes me feel uncomfortable, it makes me feel like I don’t actually have a choice,” O’Donnell explained.
She says her daughter should not have anything injected into her that she is not 100% sure of.
“I have to take that responsibility and I have to say this is right for you, but I don’t feel that it is right. The sickness is new, it is a novel virus, we don’t know that much about it,” said O’Donnell.
She says there isn’t enough information to decide. Currently, adults must get boosters and for O’Donnell, she says that is one of many red flags.
“There is so much unknown,” O’Donnell said. “What is going to happen next? Is it going to be booster on top of booster? Is she going to have side effects? I’m just not convinced the pros to outweigh the cons.”
Dr. Atousa Ghaneian, a Las Vegas pediatrician, says about 50% of her patients' parents think this way. Many with misinformation that is leading to discouragement.
Dr. Ghaneian says the dosage for this age group is a third of what is given to those who are 12 and older.
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“It is the same effective immune response and the same protection against getting either the COVID-19 infection or reducing the severity of the infection if they get it so hopefully, they don’t end up in the hospital or ICU with long-term complications,” Dr. Ghaneian said.
Dr. Ghaneian says we need to vaccinate this age group as fast as possible. She says from July to the current day, the number of children with COVID went up by 200%.
Children can be asymptomatic. She says this is what is getting our most vulnerable populations at risk.
“We are going to continue to see emergent of new variants, so we should protect ourselves and our kids by vaccinating them and hopefully avoid seeing the emergence of new variants,” Dr. Ghaneian said.
A Southern Nevada Health District spokesperson says they are waiting for the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's final approval and guidance. At this time, they urge that everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated do so as soon as possible to help prevent the spread.
