Editorial: Weigh benefits of keiki vaccinations

It’s always a decision point, whether or not to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but it may be an especially sharp point when the patient is at such a tender age.

Hawaii parents of children under age 5 have had or are now having that debate with themselves. On Saturday state health officials announced that 27,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccines geared for infants and children are expected to arrive “in the coming week.”

That’s nowhere near the roughly 80,000 keiki who are eligible, following the weekend thumbs-up recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the heels of the emergency-use authorization issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

As jubilant as some parents may be to get the vaccine for their youngest children at last, there is a strong hesitant streak showing in many households, here and across the country. Many parents are leery of a newly released shot for their youngest and are waiting to see if there are repercussions first.

Although this reticence is understandable, and summer months may feel less COVID-risky, right now there’s still a lingering surge in infections from the highly infectious omicron variant, with new mutations of the virus on the horizon. Parents need to arm themselves with the facts, and reflect carefully on their own personal circumstances and family routines, before making their ultimate choice.

The new keiki approvals apply to vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the former in a three-dose series, the latter given in two shots. Both are administered in fractional doses compared with those available to older children and, especially, with the adult formulations.

This is the latest development in the 2-1/2-year challenge the pandemic has laid out. In what is the first of a series of public-health reports, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization has estimated that 96% of the state has some degree of immunity from infection or vaccination; over 93% has had at least one shot.

Among the more startling findings is that 31.3% of respondents who have been infected report suffering from “long COVID” — the symptoms that linger for the longer term after the acute infection.

It is the uncertain impacts of the disease that should be the most worrisome to parents, said Tim Brown, director of an epidemiology team at the East-West Center. He was speaking Monday on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser “Spotlight Hawaii” webcast.

More than 100,000 children have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S., Brown said, 86% of them admitted specifically because of serious effects of the viral disease, not merely testing positive while there for another illness.

“I would say that people are completely underestimating the impact that COVID has on children,” he added.

On Monday, Hawaii Pacific Health announced plans to begin offering keiki vaccinations starting Saturday, by appointment at clinics on Oahu and Kauai. A larger event is being planned for July in West Oahu.

In general, though, distribution of these shots will be through pediatricians, which is a good thing. He or she can advise with knowledge of the child’s medical condition.

For parents who opt to wait, they also should follow masking protocols and standard precautions to keep their child as safe as possible. The decision might hinge on the living conditions of the family, the risks of close contacts with vulnerable family members, and other considerations.

The hope is that the pandemic eventually becomes less of a worry, but that’s still in the future. For now, a casual outlook is not warranted. Nobody should want to catch this disease, least of all that precious little one.