Youth vaccinations off to slow start in St. Mary

Nearly a month into the effort to inoculate those ages 12-15 with the COVID-19 vaccine, numbers are low, but the Region 3 director of the Louisiana Department of Health said that the timing for the introductions plays a part in that.
According Dr. Chip Riggins, the state health agency’s director in Region 3, the Emergency Use Authorization granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 10 coincided with the end of the school year, producing lower numbers thus far.
However, he said that age group is something the state and Region 3, which includes St. Mary Parish, will be increasing efforts in this summer.
“We do want to encourage folks with kids in that group to go ahead and not wait, come in,” Riggins said. “It’s a good time to get it started.”
This summer, he said the state would be working with businesses, churches and community groups to hold events to give the vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one that has been granted approval thus far. Because only one company has been given approval of the vaccine, it is limited to the parish’s Public Health Unit in Morgan City and Ochsner St. Mary. Appointments can be made at either location to get kids the vaccine. Written parental consent is not required but strongly encouraged, Riggins said.
According to the Louisiana Department of Health, 1.92%, or 18,856, of all those who have begun the vaccine sequence are in the ages 5-17 group. A total of 0.84% of all those who have been fully vaccinated, or 12,017, come from this age group, too. There are 768,262 in this age group who have not received a vaccine.
While the age group is characterized as ages 5-17, it actually only includes those who are ages 12-17, Riggins said.
“We used the 5-17 age range early in the pandemic to capture school-age children in our case reporting, so for consistency, we have matched those categorizations for vaccinations,” Louisiana Department of Health Public Information Officer Mindy Faciane said.
Closer to home in Region 3, state data shows that 1.49% of all those who have begun the vaccination regime, or 1,031, come from the 5-17 age group.
In the region, 0.68% of all those fully vaccinated, or 777, come from this age group. There are 69,916 who have not been vaccinated in the 12-17 age range.
In St. Mary Parish, the state’s data shows that of those who have begun the vaccination sequence, 0.86% of that population, or 61 youngsters, come from the 12-17 age group. Of all that have completed the vaccine, 0.49%, or 65 total, come from this age group. The total who have not been vaccinated in this age group is 8,903.
Nationally and in the state, the American Academy of Pediatricians, as well as pediatricians, are joining government health professionals in the effort to encourage parents to have their children vaccinated.
“Because I think that’s where parents go for that information,” Riggins said. “That’s the trusted voice about childhood immunizations.”
Teche Action Clinic CEO Dr. Gary Wiltz noted that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has an effective rate of 100% in children.
“So you can’t get any better than that,” he said.
The longtime physician said the system in place for giving the vaccines Emergency Use Authorizations is a great one.
“That is, the clinical trials were done in accordance with all the FDA regulations, and that’s why they got the Emergency Use Auth-orization,” Wiltz said. “So it’s not like it hasn’t been tested. It has been tested, and the sample size that it was tested in was felt to be adequate and representative with confidence that it was granted the Emergency Use Authorization.”
Riggins said when the Moderna vaccine is approved for this age group, availability will expand to other locations.
Wiltz said his agency is surveying the parents of those eligible for the vaccine before even determining how much of it they will need to order. He said about 2,000 people his agency serves in St. Mary Parish would qualify in the 12-15 age group.
The shots youngsters will receive are the same one adults received, and the same flu-like type symptoms experienced in adults are expected in children.
“For the most part, kids tolerate the vaccine a little bit better,” Riggins said. “Of course, they don’t vocalize their symptoms maybe as well sometimes, but yes, the side-effect profile seems to be similar and tolerable.”
In referencing the 5-17 age group used on the state’s website, Faciane noted that the eligibility for vaccines has changed before and probably will change again.
Riggins said that’s where medicine is headed with the vaccine with studies first, and then after approval is given by the FDA, opening up the age group even further.
Wiltz said today’s youth are “probably the most vaccinated group that we’ve ever had in history.”
He and Riggins did recognize how parents will take a closer look at the vaccines because unlike themselves, it will be given to a loved one.
“You want to do what’s best for them, and you can only base it on science,” Wiltz said. However, he said the science has proven itself.
The recommended age to begin giving a flu shot is six months old, and further down the line, Riggins said he thinks that’s where medical professionals will go with the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Thursday in all age groups, the state has begun nearly 1.66 million vaccine series and has concluded almost 1.48 million, according to state Department of Health data.
In Region 3, 28.82% of the population has been vaccinated, which is the fourth-best among the state’s nine regions. The number of people fully vaccinated in the region is 128,288, according to the state data.
In St. Mary Parish, 14,606 series have been started and 13,181 have been completed, according to the state.
Riggins said getting the younger age group vaccinated is important.
“If we can get a significant number of younger adults and of children, I think it’s going to bode much better for a normal school year, and we’re kind of minimizing the other mitigation measures that are necessary if we see more spikes due to the COVID,” he said.