According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) newsroom release, on June 18, 2022 CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This expands eligibility for vaccination to nearly 20 million additional children and means that all Americans ages 6 months and older are now eligible for vaccination. 

Parents and caregivers can now get their children 6 months through 5 years of age vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to better protect them from COVID-19. According to the CDC, all children, including children who have already had COVID-19, should get vaccinated.

The CDC also reports that COVID-19 vaccines have undergone—and will continue to undergo—the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. Parents and caregivers can play an active role in monitoring the safety of these vaccines by signing their children up for v-safe – personalized and confidential health check-ins via text messages and web surveys where they can easily share with CDC how a child feels after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Distribution of pediatric vaccinations for these younger children has started across the country, and will be available at thousands of pediatric practices, pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, local health departments, clinics, and other locations the week of June 19th. Children in this younger age group can be vaccinated with whichever vaccine is available (either Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech). Parents can reach out to their doctor, nurse, local pharmacy, or health department, or visit vaccines.gov to see where vaccines for children are available.     

The following is attributable to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky:    
“Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against COVID-19. We know millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can. I encourage parents and caregivers with questions to talk to their doctor, nurse, or local pharmacist to learn more about the benefits of vaccinations and the importance of protecting their children by getting them vaccinated.”    

To view the CDC press release, click here.

On June 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) launched the National Parents and Families Engagement Council (Council) to facilitate strong and effective relationships between schools and parents, families and caregivers. Families’ voices play a critical role in how the nation’s children are recovering from the pandemic.

“Parents are a child’s first teachers, and there’s no one better equipped to work with schools and educators to identify what students need to recover,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The National Parents and Families Engagement Council will serve as an important link between families and caregivers, education advocates and their school communities. The Council will help foster a collaborative environment where we can work together to serve the best interest of students and ensure they have the academic and mental health support they need to recover from the pandemic and thrive in the future.”

The Council consists of parent, family, or caregiver representatives from national organizations that will work with the USDE to identify constructive ways to help families engage at the local level. Organization representatives will reflect the diversity of the education system, including, but not limited to, families of students in public schools, charters, private schools, and homeschool. The Council will be a channel for parents and families to constructively participate in their children’s education by helping them understand the rights they have, create a feedback loop with schools to shape how American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds are deployed to meet students’ needs, and identify summer learning and enrichment opportunities for children in their communities.

“Parents provide critical perspective, and they should always have a seat at the table whenever decisions are made that impact their children. And this is more important than ever in the effort to help students recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Anna King, president of National Parent Teacher Association (PTA). “National PTA applauds the Department of Education for launching the National Parents and Families Engagement Council and providing a channel for parents’ voices to be heard and considered. This is essential to help make sure the needs of students are met coming out of the pandemic and ensure every child has everything they need to make their potential a reality.”

“NAFSCE congratulates the Department of Education for establishing a National Parents and Families Engagement Council,” said Vito Borrello, executive director of the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE). “This Council provides the opportunity to bring diverse parent voices together to inform the USDE’s policies and programs, while also serving as a dissemination vehicle for engaging families across the country in equitable education policy.”
At launch, Council members include:

• The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
• Fathers Incorporated
• Generations United
• Girls Inc.
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
• Mocha Moms
• National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE)
• National Action Network
• National Military Family Association (NMFA)
• National Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
• National Parents Union (NPU)
• The National Center for Parent Leadership, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment (PLACE)
• United Parent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN)
• UnidosUS

In the coming weeks, the Council will meet to discuss how their children are recovering; the different ways schools are providing academic, mental health and social and emotional support; and how they can best constructively engage with schools. In the coming months, the USDE and the Council will hold local listening sessions with parents, families, principals, educators, and school community members to better understand the needs of students as they start the 2022-23 school year.

On June 12, 2022, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff reported that the Pfizer COVID-19 three-shot vaccine regimen is effective at preventing symptomatic disease in children 6 months through 4 years-old with no new safety concerns. This comes on the heels of a June, 10, 2022 announcement by FDA staff reviewers who provided documentation that Moderna’s Covid-19 two-shot vaccine generated a similar immune response in the children than those observed in adults in previous trials and appears safe and effective for use in children aged 6 months to 17 years old.  

This week, a committee of scientists are expected to meet to vote on whether to recommend authorization for use of the two vaccines.

Previously, on June 9th the White House announced a highly anticipated Covid-19 vaccine rollout plan for children under five years-old.
The administration “has made 10 million vaccine doses available for states, Tribes, territories, community health centers, federal pharmacy partners, and others to pre-order,” according to a White House fact sheet. It is partnering with those entities to ship and distribute vaccines across the country following full FDA authorization of vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
The first vaccinations could start “as early as the week of June 20th —with the program ramping up over time as more doses are delivered and more appointments become available,” according to the fact sheet.
CNN previously reported Covid-19 vaccination shots for the youngest Americans could begin as soon as June 21.

To view the fact sheet, click here.

For more info, click here.

Sources: NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN.