COVID-19 vaccination figures for youngest Wisconsinites released

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Just over a month after the Department of Health Services paved the way for the littlest Wisconsinites to get a COVID-19 vaccination, the agency is offering a first glimpse of how many parents have opted to take their kids for that first shot.

As of Thursday, fewer than 20,000 doses of the vaccine have been given to children between the ages of six months and four years old, a DHS spokesperson reported Friday. The update did not list the actual number of children who showed up for the vaccine. However, because both the Pfizer and Moderna versions require multiple doses, that figure is likely lower.

The agency has not yet added that age group to its public dashboard to reflect the number of children getting vaccinated. An update is expected, although there is no date set for it to happen. The dashboard does count total doses of the vaccine provided to Wisconsinites each week. That number rose slightly in the past couple weeks, but it is not clear if that was because of the newly eligible children or other reasons.

When releasing the new statistics, DHS reminded parents that children are susceptible to dangerous complications from the virus, adding “there is no way to predict if a child will develop a severe or mild case of COVID-19.” In addition to that risk is the chance that a child, even if they do not get seriously ill, spreads COVID-19 to someone who does, the agency continued.

Parents are encouraged to ask their child’s primary care provider or go to vaccines.gov for more information on where they can find a vaccination location near them. If they do not find one in their area, parents can also call 211.