Ever since President Donald Trump’s head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced restrictions on vaccines in August, people have been scrambling to find out where they can get the shot. And for parents, who sent their kids back to school earlier this month, the messaging is even more confusing.
Scientists estimate that since 2020, the vaccines have saved an estimated 2.5 million lives from the deadly coronavirus by prompting the immune system to make antibodies. The result is substantial protection from severe illness and death when a person is exposed to the virus. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first Covid vaccines, for adults, in 2020. It approved a version for kids under the age of 12 a few months later.
But a wave of disinformation has been growing since the vaccine rollout began in late 2020, with social media fanning its spread. Kennedy has spread this disinformation himself. And in August, Kennedy, who has no training or professional experience in immunology, medicine or science in general, made a sweeping decision restricting access to Covid vaccines.
The result has been a lot of confusion over who is eligible, despite a surge in Covid cases and a jump in mortality this winter.
In response the governors of some states, including New York, Illinois and Hawaii, have used their executive authority to reopen access, offering their residents a path around Kennedy’s restrictions. But the muddiness and uncertainty about getting the right vaccine for kids remains an issue for parents.
Pediatricians say yes
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the country’s largest association of pediatricians, published a statement earlier this year, based on medical literature and data, urging parents to vaccinate their kids, saying that the vaccine is safe and effective at preventing death, hospitalizations and other serious outcomes resulting from Covid infection.
“I think one of the big media messages is that kids don’t get sick from Covid. It’s really mild, and you know, by and large it is,” Dr. Jesse Hackell, a committee chair from the A.A.P., said in a phone interview last week. But, he said, it isn’t always.
“We have to look at the risk of any individual getting sick. And it’s not zero for any individual child,” he said. “It’s small, but it’s not zero.”
While small, he said, the risk of serious illness to children from catching Covid is actually much higher than any potential risk from getting the vaccine.
“The sense I’m getting is that people, parents, are even more confused given what’s come out of Washington,” he said, which runs “counter to the AAP statement, that kids under two should be vaccinated Period, end of discussion.”
‘Hot topic’
While many adults are having a hard time getting vaccinated (see our previous reporting here and here) it’s even harder for parents. We spoke with parents about their quest to get their kids vaccinated.
“I can tell you this is now a hot topic of conversation in my mom group chat,” one parent wrote. “People are trying to figure out which pediatricians have access to Covid vaccines and/or are getting them, which pharmacies will administer to toddlers, etc.”
Other parents also described confusion over guidelines from doctors, pharmacists and other public health officials; multiple parents reported arriving at vaccination appointments with their kids’ pediatrician, only to find out that the providers didn’t actually have the vaccine in stock.
They asked us not to use their names to protect their children’s privacy.
One parent in New York City wrote: “I kind of assumed that information would just come to me because of the [parenting] chats I’m in and the social media I follow. But I don’t think I saw anything about where to get kids vaccinated or where to get the vaccine, except related to that weird thing about whether you needed to have a prescription or say that you had a condition.”
Not yet available
Some parents showed up at pharmacies and doctors’ offices expecting to get the vaccine, only to find out it wasn’t available yet.
The parent in New York City told ClearHealthCosts: “Then I did get a message from my local pharmacy saying the vaccine was in. So I took the kids to the doctor for their flu shots and asked their pediatrician, can they get the Covid vaccine here? And he said We don’t have it.’”
A mother in southern Westchester County, N.Y., told us she had a confirmed appointment for her infant to get the vaccine from her pediatrician, only to have the doctor cancel because they didn’t have it.
“Update! Our pediatrician doesn’t have the Covid vaccine, isn’t sure when they will get it, and has no idea how much it will cost and if insurance will cover it. We had to cancel our appointment.”
Insurance issues
The insurance situation is still very confusing. We heard different reports from different sources.
“The America’s Health Insurance Plans, AHIP, which is the industry [trade association], has come out with a statement that they will cover all vaccines that had been recommended as of September 1, at least until the end of 2026,” Dr. Hackell told us. “So I think we have a pretty good idea that it will be paid for by insurance at least this year.”
Despite this statement, we still heard from parents that coverage was still up in the air.
“My son’s pediatrician won’t be offering COVID vaccines this fall. The large medical group that owns their practice makes those decisions and feels there won’t be enough demand to justify it if insurance may stop covering the shots.”
The mother in southern Westchester County wrote: “I successfully made an appointment for my toddler at his pediatrician in the city. Only Moderna was available (which is fine for us) but we have to sign a document saying that we acknowledge that insurance will not cover it.”
What you can do
Dr. Hackell said it’s worth being persistent to get the vaccine and get it covered.
“If 100 or 200 kids die from Covid, which is preventable, that’s still a tragedy. Most kids don’t die of measles, they don’t die of whooping cough, they don’t die of the flu. Most kids don’t,” he said. “But some do.”
“To my mind, as a pediatrician, any preventable death or even severe illness of a child is a tragedy,” he said. “But since we don’t know who’s going to be at the greatest risk, I think we have to protect everybody as best we can.”
Many of the parents we spoke to were able to get the vaccine for their kids eventually. Just because pharmacies didn’t have it last week, doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t have it next week.
One parent gave the following advice on a blog we follow:
“You have the right idea — talk to your pediatrician, let them know you believe in vaccination, and take their recommendation on priorities and timing. (Assuming you trust them).”
Some of the chain pharmacies will not vaccinate children, or will not vaccinate under 1 year of age. So the pediatrician may be your best choice.
Some public health outlets will vaccinate children – for example New York Health & Hospitals sites or some of the related Gotham Health Centers.
Watch social media. We have heard of people learning from an X-Twitter post of a site that is able to offer vaccines.
Rules and practices vary from state to state, so going to another state might result in success. In a brief on vaccine policy access, the Kaiser Family Foundation wrote:
“Twenty-six states have moved to allow pharmacists to administer COVID-19 vaccines without a prescription in an effort to maintain access as federal guidelines narrow. Four states and DC have moved to do so beyond COVID-19 and include other vaccines, which could include those that may no longer be recommended by CDC/ACIP.” The brief is here, and it includes a table on state policies.
