Doctors, parents split about new COVID vaccine guidance for kids over 6 months

PHILADELPHIA - Federal health leaders recently recommended the COVID vaccine for children as young as 6-months, but unlike the height of the pandemic when most people were eager to roll up their sleeves, the new guidance has drawn hesitation from pediatricians and parents alike.

Dr. Jennifer Coren, a pediatrician at Hatboro Pediatrics, said she believes part of the pushback from doctors is due to the lack of information made available by health experts. She understands the hesitation about the shot from fellow pediatricians and parents, but she will still have her four children vaccinated. 

"There haven't been as many feeds to providers about the vaccine," Dr. Coren said. "I think the CDC needs to do more educating of the pediatricians, so we have more understanding about the vaccine and more comfort with it." 

The COVID pandemic turned a corner when vaccines became free and available to anyone who wanted the shot. Years later, Dr. Coren said state agencies started privatizing the vaccine with a steep price tag that is partly passed on to the patient. 

"This COVID vaccine is somewhere between $115-$120 per dose, and there's a minimum that you have to order for kids 12 and up, so that's a lot of cast for something we might not use up and expires rapidly," Dr. Coren said. 

Dezzerie Yanga, a mother of four children, said she was recently told by their pediatrician to hold off on getting her kids vaccinated for COVID.

"Kids get sick all the time," Yanga said. "Not until we get all the information and all the data that we need for me, for my children, I would not give them the shot."

Sharon Mayers said she's had the COVID shot and boosters, and won't let her children of grandchildren come around her if they aren't vaccinated. 

Dr. Coren suggests that the best way for parents to make a decision about whether to get their kids the COVID vaccine is to listen to their pediatrician.