"We trust the COVID vaccine," heads of top medical groups say in ads targeting parents

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."We took an oath to do what's best for our patients. So we want you to know we trust the COVID vaccine. For ourselves, for our patients, for our kids. So should you," the group says in the ad.


The new ads come as the pace of new vaccinations has slowed nationwide for two straight months to record lows, even though more than 57 million eligible Americans are still unvaccinated. Only about three in 10 of all first doses given over the past two weeks were administered to children.

Compared to their vaccinated peers, CDC data through January suggests that rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations were three times higher in unvaccinated children 5-11 years old and two times higher in unvaccinated children 12-15 years old.

Recent studies published by the agency have found middling effectiveness from two shots against curbing urgent care visits or infections during the Omicron wave, though adolescents with a booster shot fared significantly better.

Pfizer and BioNTech are expected to have trial results in April that could allow for younger age groups to get a third dose.

The CDC also updated its guidance last month to allow for adolescents to extend the interval to as much as 8 weeks between their first and second dose, which some studies suggest may lower the risk of rare heart inflammation side effects and improve the vaccine's protection."...