COVID vaccines for very young expected to be ready soon in N.M.

Jun. 18—The New Mexico Department of Health expects to soon provide coronavirus vaccines for the state's youngest children.

Although at least one federal approval remains, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday gave its OK to COVID-19 vaccines for infants and young children, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to follow, possibly this weekend.

State Health Department spokeswoman Jodi McGinnis Porter wrote in an email Friday the department is "preparing to roll out the vaccines."

With federal approval under an emergency use authorization, the Moderna vaccine would be available to children ages 6 months to 5 years and the Pfizer vaccine for those 6 months to 4 years. Both would use much smaller doses than those for older children and adults.

The Moderna regimen would involve two shots spread out over time and the Pfizer, three shots.

The chief medical officer for Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center said the federal approval of vaccines for the nation's young children is a welcome development.

"Vaccines are one of the most important tools we have in addressing the spread of COVID in our community," Dr. David Gonzales wrote in an email. "Children are one of our most vulnerable populations and we are encouraged by the Food and Drug Administration's decision to expand the use of certain vaccines for emergency use in children under the age of 5."

Jasmin Milz-Holmstrup, a spokeswoman for La Familia Health in Santa Fe, formerly known as La Familia Medical Center, said Friday her clinic is "very excited about it. This has been a long time coming."

At a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said her staff was working over the Juneteenth federal holiday weekend "because we understand the urgency of this for American parents."

She said pediatric deaths from COVID-19 have been higher than what is generally seen from the flu each year.

Roughly 440 children under age 5 in the nation have died from COVID-19, federal data shows.

"So I actually think we need to protect young children, as well as protect everyone with the vaccine and especially protect elders," Walensky said.

A CDC advisory committee is expected to endorse the vaccines Saturday and forward the recommendation to Walensky.

While young children generally don't get as sick from COVID-19 as older kids and adults, their hospitalizations surged during the omicron wave and FDA's advisers determined that benefits from vaccination outweighed the minimal risks. Studies from Moderna and Pfizer showed side effects, including fever and fatigue, were mostly minor.

FDA officials acknowledged low vaccination rates among children and teens nationwide and said the government is committed to getting more older kids vaccinated and having better success with younger kids.

"It's a real tragedy, when you have something free with so few side effects that prevents deaths and hospitalization," said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf.

State and federal data show New Mexico children in other age groups are vaccinated for COVID-19 at a slightly higher rate than the U.S. average, with 34.2 percent of children ages 5-11 completing the initial series of shots, compared to 29.4 percent nationwide, and 61.1 percent of kids ages 12-17 fully vaccinated in the state, compared to

59.7 percent in the nation.

State data shows 78.8 percent of adults in New Mexico have completed the initial series of shots and 60.6 percent have had at least one booster dose.

After federal authorization is granted for infant and child doses, shipments of the vaccine will be sent to the states, McGinnis Porter said. The state Health Department will issue a notice to health care providers with recommendations for use based on CDC guidance.

The Health Department has preordered both kinds of vaccines for the young age group.

Milz-Holmstrup said La Familia already has placed orders for the vaccines. "Nothing gets done until we have the official go ahead of the state," she added.

McGinnis Porter said when federal approvals are final, shipments could go to states Monday or Tuesday. The Juneteenth federal holiday Monday could delay shipping by a day.

Health care practitioners throughout the state are ready to administer the vaccines, she said. "There may be waiting periods for appointments in a few places, but there will be enough vaccine for all."

White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha predicted the pace of vaccinations for kids under 5 to be far slower than it was for older populations and said the administration doesn't have any internal targets for the pace of vaccinations.

"At the end of the day, our goal is very clear: We want to get as many kids vaccinated as possible," Jha told the Associated Press.

The New Mexico Department of Health said families can get ready for immunizations of infants and young children by adding them to the family's vaccine profiles at vaccinenm.org.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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