In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the next round of COVID shots for everyone 6 months and older. Doses were supposed to be available that day in pharmacies and doctor’s offices across the country.
But more than a month later, the smaller-dosage pediatric COVID shots for children 6 months to 11 years old are still difficult to find. A confluence of problems — from technicalities about who can give shots to small kids, to the lack of accurate information online on where kid-sized doses can be found — is still preventing parents from making sure their children are protected.
“Nobody has accurate information on where doses actually exist. It’s just an absolute logistical mess trying to find information and it was driving me insane,” said Anne Hamilton of Sunland, who searched for weeks to find a pediatric dose for her 4-year-old son, Jimmy.
Hamilton checked first with her son’s doctor. The website was only offering vaccine appointments for adults.
“The pop-up [on the website] says ‘new vaccines are expected in late September, try again later.’ Well that’s a frustrating message to read when it’s October, and they’re not giving you any other information,” she said.
One problem that has caused headaches for parents has been trying to find doses covered by their insurance. At the height of the pandemic, the federal government purchased the vaccines and made them free to consumers. Now, pharmacies and doctors have to buy the vaccines from suppliers. Since the government is no longer giving the shots away for free, most people need to use their health insurance to pay for them — and that can be…
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