Following an Early Period of High Demand, Vaccination for Children Ages 5-11 Has Significantly Slowed

By December 16.7% of 5-11 year olds had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, with 4.3% of children achieving a full vaccination, according to a new KFF analysis. After a brief period of high demand, the rate of vaccinations slowed significantly until Thanksgiving, and has been slowing at a slower pace ever since.

Vaccination efforts across the country continue to vary, with a difference of more than 40 percentage points between the best vaccinated states and the worst vaccinated states. For example, 45.6% of children ages 5-11 in Vermont received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 3.6% of children ages 5-11 in West Virginia. Northeastern states are more likely to be vaccinated than southern states, with New England vaccinated at least 30% of children.

There are approximately 28 million children ages 5-11. Currently, only 4.8 million children have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.