Kansas City kids have lower vaccine rates, more COVID hospitalizations. Here’s what to know

The ongoing, omicron-induced COVID-19 surge has set a record number of child hospitalizations around Kansas City.

Hospitals like Children’s Mercy are seeing more kids hospitalized for the respiratory virus than in previous stages of the pandemic. According to hospital officials, the vast majority of children being treated for COVID-19 in the hospital are not vaccinated.

Younger children have the lowest vaccination rates compared to other age groups in both Missouri and Kansas.

While Children’s Mercy is not offering COVID-19 testing at its regular capacity this week, the hospital and other vaccine clinics around Kansas City are still offering COVID-19 vaccine doses to kids.

Only 21% of children ages 5 to 14 in Missouri have completed their COVID-19 vaccination series, the lowest rate of any age group. For comparison, 42% of 15-17 year olds have been vaccinated in Missouri. In Kansas City, 32% of 5-17 year olds have been fully vaccinated. Missouri doesn’t break county or city-level data down further by age group than that.

In Kansas, children 5 to 11 years old are being vaccinated at a rate of about 22%, which is also lower than all other age groups. In Johnson County, 25% of 5 to 11 year olds have been fully vaccinated, and about 20% of 5 to 11 year olds in Wyandotte County have been fully vaccinated.

There are 29 children being hospitalized for COVID-19 at Children’s Mercy as of Tuesday, and five of those kids are in the intensive care unit.

“We are seeing an increase in younger children being hospitalized compared to earlier in the pandemic,” said Children’s Mercy Infectious Diseases Division Director Dr. Angela Myers during a briefing last week.

COVID-19 is also causing more deaths among children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, COVID-19 is now one of the top 10 causes of death in children ages 5 through 11. A total of eight people under 18 years old have died in Missouri, according to the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services. In Kansas, a total of six people under 18 years old have died from COVID-19.

What to know about getting your child vaccinated

Children’s vaccines are specially made for kids ages 5 to 11. According to the Missouri DHSS, vaccines given to adults can’t be used on young children. Instead children are given an age-appropriate dose that is one third of a typical adult dose.

To separate child doses from adult doses, vials intended for children use a different color cap. Clinics also use smaller needles for children 5 to 11 years old.

Pfizer-BioNTech is the only vaccine authorized for children over 5 years old and teens. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shot are not authorized for kids.

The child vaccine series still requires two doses for the child to be considered fully vaccinated, according to DHSS.

Will my child experience any side effects?

Children who receive a vaccine may experience a sore arm, body aches, tiredness, nausea or a headache, according to DHSS. These side effects are normal and should go away after a few days.

If my child is already vaccinated, when can they get a booster?

Everyone 12 years and older are eligible to get a booster shot five months after their initial two-dose vaccination series, according to the CDC. Children 12 to 17 years old are only authorized to get the Pfizer booster shot.

Kids 5 years and older, who are moderately or severely immunocompromised can receive a third dose of Pfizer 28 days after their second dose of the vaccine, according to DHSS. To see if your child is eligible, check this list of medical conditions and circumstances on the state health department’s COVID-19 website.

What about if my child already had COVID-19?

During a briefing on Jan. 11, Myers said that data shows that immunity is stronger after a vaccine than natural infection. She explained that a vaccine primes different cells in the lymph nodes to develop antibodies that are more protective against the virus.

“A lot of people throw around natural immunity and they think natural immunity is better than vaccine immunity and that’s just not true,” Myers said.

Where to find a vaccine

KC CARE and Kansas City Public Library clinics

Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Waldo Branch, 201 E. 75th St.

Wednesdays from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m

North-East Branch, 6000 Wilson Ave.

Thursdays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Children’s Mercy

Vaccines are available by appointment at Children’s Mercy. Appointments are available Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the following locations:

Children’s Mercy Broadway

3101 Broadway Blvd.

Children’s Mercy Adele Hall Campus

2401 Gillham Rd.

Children’s Mercy College Boulevard

5500 College Blvd.

Children’s Mercy Northland

501 N.W. Barry Rd,

The Jewish Community Center

The Jewish Community Center is also hosting a free vaccine clinic for people ages 5 and up on Jan. 18 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 5801 W 115 St.

Our team at The Star has a guide for where to find a vaccine around Kansas City, or you can search vaccines.gov, text your ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233 to find a shot near you through the CDC’s vaccine finder.

Do you have other questions about the latest wave of COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask us at kcq@kcstar.com or with the form below.