Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
News about coronavirus in Florida and around the world is constantly emerging. It's hard to stay on top of it all but Health News Florida can help. Our responsibility is to keep you informed, and to help discern what’s important for your family as you make what could be life-saving decisions.

Miami pediatrician on tots and the COVID shot and how to talk with kids about it

Deborah Sampson, left, a nurse at a University of Washington Medical Center clinic in Seattle, gives a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shot to a 20-month-old child, Tuesday, June 21, 2022, in Seattle.
Ted S. Warren
/
/
Deborah Sampson, left, a nurse at a University of Washington Medical Center clinic in Seattle, gives a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shot to a 20-month-old child, Tuesday, June 21, 2022, in Seattle.

Demand for the under-5 vaccines remains low, and some doctors say a bulk is going to waste. Dr. Brandon Chatani, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, joins WLRN's Sundial to discuss what parents should know.

Children under 5 years old are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Florida missed the initial deadline to preorder those, but providers such as family doctors and retail pharmacies ordered them directly from the federal government.

They arrived much earlier than anticipated, according to the Miami Herald, and kids in that age group are already receiving doses.

But demand is still low, and some doctors say a bulk of those vaccines is going to waste, the Herald reports. Each vaccine vial contains 10 doses, and once a vial is opened, it has to be used within 12 hours.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend the vaccine for kids, but Florida’s health department is not recommending it for healthy children.

Dr. Brandon Chatani, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Holtz Children's Hospital at the University of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Medical Center, joined WLRN's Sundial to discuss what parents and caregivers should know about the COVID vaccines for kids and how to talk to children about it.

Click on the Listen button above to hear the conversation.

Copyright 2022 WLRN 91.3 FM. To see more, visit WLRN 91.3 FM.

Leslie Ovalle produces the morning newscasts that air during Morning Edition. As a multimedia producer, she also works on visual and digital storytelling. Her interests include immigration, technology and the environment.