A lthough more common among adults, severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and hospitalization can occur in children. Among >8,300 hospitalized children 5-11 years of age, 1/3 required intensive care (1,2). Children can transmit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 to others, highlighting the need for pediatric COVID-19 vaccinations. On November 2, 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer Inc., https://www.pfizer.com) in children 5-11 years of age. We analyzed first-dose vaccination coverage among children 5-11 years of age and stratified coverage by age group, sex, race/ ethnicity, and jurisdiction.
The StudyWe analyzed COVID-19 vaccine administration data among children 5-11 years of age in the United States during November 2-December 31, 2021. We collected data that were reported to CDC from jurisdictions, pharmacies, and federal entities through immunization information systems, the Vaccine Administration Management System, and direct data submission by January 21, 2022 (Appendix, https://wwwnc.cdc. gov/EID/article/28/5/22-0166.pdf). We calculated daily and cumulative total numbers of children receiving the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. We calculated vaccination coverage by dividing the number of children who received the first vaccine dose by the total population of children in the corresponding age group living in the defined jurisdiction. We stratified vaccine coverage by jurisdiction, age group (5-6, 7-8, and 9-11 years), and sex. We obtained the population size for children 5-11 years of age from the US Census Bureau 2020 Population Estimates (3). Among 82.1% of children 5-11 years of age for whom race and ethnicity data were available, we calculated the percentage of children receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine dose by race/ ethnicity and compared this with the racial and ethnic makeup of the US population 5-11 years of age.We did not conduct tests for statistical significance because these data reflect US population and not population samples. We used SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Inc., https://www.sas.com) to perform analyses. This study was reviewed by CDC and conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.