The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pressuring family physicians to push COVID-19 vaccines for young children, according to an email obtained by Politico.
COVID-19 vaccine uptake has been slow in kids between the ages of five and eleven, with nearly 70% remaining unvaccinated, according to CDC data. Uptake could be even slower with younger children under five. In an attempt to speed up the process of vaccinating children, the CDC is asking doctors in its Vaccines for Children (VFC) program to sell parents on the benefits of the coronavirus shot, Politico reported.
“As the most trusted source of information for parents and caregivers, your strong recommendation is critical to increasing confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and ensuring children get vaccinated,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky reportedly wrote in the email to VFC participants.
Fact: mRNA vaccines don’t have long-term safety studies & could have unknown long-term risks.
Fact: 70% of kids 1-4 already had COVID.
Fact: Kids have a 99.98% COVID survival rate.
There are lots of questions and the FDA needs to provide answers: 1/x https://t.co/qPeGCwhUDD
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 2, 2022
The VFC program consists of providers who are registered to give subsidized shots to children at no cost. Seventy-three percent of them said they plan to register to administer COVID-19 vaccines to young children in a recent survey, according to Politico, but the CDC wants to pump those numbers up.
Walensky urged practitioners in her email to register to give the COVID-19 vaccine and to consider giving shots to patients outside their normal group, and stressed that these doctors may have the biggest impact on getting more parents on board with the vaccine. (RELATED: Fauci Says He Doesn’t Regret Missing His Kids’ Childhoods Because His Work Is So Important)
The CDC and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized and recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for kids between six months and four years old in June.