Lack of more detailed data is obscuring which kids aren't getting the COVID-19 shot

Experts worry a lack of data is obscuring which kids aren't getting the COVID-19 shot The dearth of data on kids’ COVID-19 vaccination rates by race and ethnicity are hindering targeted equity plans, experts say. YahooNews

Experts worry a lack of data may be obscuring where to target strategies for vaccinating kids of color, who disproportionately suffer severe illness from COVID-19 but may lack access to the shot.

Just shy of a third of children ages 5 to 11 nationwide have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and a quarter are fully vaccinated, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. About 67% of kids 12 and older have received one dose, and only 57% are fully vaccinated.

But the CDC does not report children’s COVID-19 vaccination rates by race, and inconsistencies and variations remain in the ways figures are broken down and reported from state to state.

The Kaiser Family Foundation reports only seven states are releasing kids’ vaccination data by race in a way that allows for statistical comparison. Among those states, Black children generally trailed behind white children, with rates of kids from other racial groups varying.

But overall, “it remains challenging to draw strong conclusions about racial equity in COVID-19 vaccinations among children due to the dearth of comprehensive data, inconsistency in reporting, and the lack of disaggregated data for smaller racial/ethnic groups,” the authors wrote.

More data is needed to keep a pulse on which communities need more outreach, said Dr. Rebekah Fenton, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine fellow at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.   ...