Health

Berkeley County Children As Young As 6 Months Old Soon Eligible For COVID-19 Vaccines

by Nikki Gaskins Campbell
Credit: 123RF

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – Children in Berkeley County as young as six months old will soon be eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the Moderna and the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include use in children down to 6 months of age.

“Many parents, caregivers and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children and this action will help protect those down to 6 months of age.  As we have seen with older age groups, we expect that the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D.

A recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be the final step to set the wheels in motion for vaccinating children under five against COVID-19. A decision could come as early as this weekend.

In Berkeley County, nearly 17,000 children under age 5 have contracted COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health & Environmental Control. While some in that age bracket have been hospitalized due to the virus, no deaths have been reported.

Out of the 46 counties in South Carolina, Berkeley County currently ranks No. 26 in the state with a completed vaccination rate per 100,000 of 49,573.

As of Friday, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Berkeley County is 15.1 percent – up 5.6 percent from the previous weekend, according to state data.

According to SCDHEC, while most children tend to not get very sick if they become infected with COVID-19, some children across the country and in South Carolina have become severely ill and have died from the virus.

SCDHEC officials said the virus can also cause Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in some children, or MIS-C. MIS-C can cause kidney failure, heart problems, gastrointestinal problems and severe blood clotting that can result in strokes and organ failure. 

With the authorization, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will be administered as a primary series of two doses, one month apart, to children 6 months through 17 years of age. The vaccine is also authorized to provide a third primary series dose at least one month following the second dose for individuals in this age group who have been determined to have certain kinds of immunocompromise. 

The Pfizer vaccine will be administered as a primary series of three doses in which the initial two doses are administered three weeks apart followed by a third dose administered at least eight weeks after the second dose in individuals 6 months through 4 years of age. 

“As with all vaccines for any population, when authorizing COVID-19 vaccines intended for pediatric age groups, the FDA ensures that our evaluation and analysis of the data is rigorous and thorough,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. 

Have a general question about COVID-19? Call the Care Line at 1-855-472-3432, 8 a.m.- 6 p.m., weekdays.

Will you get your child under age 5 vaccinated against COVID-19? Let us know in the comments below.
Nikki Gaskins Campbell
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