If More Adults Don’t Get Vaccinated, More Kids Will Develop COVID-19

• Vaccinations among all eligible age groups are slowing, even while the number of cases is increasing.
• This trend is likely to lead to more cases among children.
• Children can potentially experience severe health outcomes, including death, from COVID-19.
• Coronavirus variants, which may potentially be more dangerous, are a special concern for unvaccinated children.
• Getting more adults and teens vaccinated helps protect unvaccinated children and other vulnerable groups.

Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for the first COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020, the United States has been working to get enough people vaccinated that it will reach herd immunity: the point when a large percentage of the population becomes immune to a disease.

However, recent data shows that reaching that goal may be a bigger challenge than some originally thought.

As of July 22, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was reporting that 56.4 percent of people in the United States have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition, 48.8 percent of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated.

However, according to Dr. John S. Schieffelin, associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine in the sections of pediatric and adult infectious diseases at Tulane University School of Medicine, vaccinations among all eligible age groups are slowing even while the rate of COVID-19 cases is increasing dramatically in 49 U.S. states.

The CDC reports that, as of July 15, the 7-day average number of administered vaccine doses reported to the agency was 270,592.

This represents a 35.7 percent decrease from the previous week’s data. At the same time, daily cases have been trending upward rapidly.

On June 19, the 7-day moving average had reached a low of 11,386 cases. But by July 20, the number had soared to 37,673.

“The trend in infections is particularly high among younger adults,” Schieffelin said. “This will likely trigger an increase in cases among younger children in the near future.”