As some kids got COVID-19 vaccinations this fall, one group of children was left out

Over the last few weeks, about 1,000 children have gotten the COVID-19 vaccination at the Chicago-area pediatrician’s office where Dr. Susan Sirota works, but her practice and others like it were unable to administer a single dose for low-income children through a federally funded program known as Vaccines for Children.

“We had this situation where all children are not allowed to have timely protection,” Sirota said. “All children deserve that — not just those who have private insurance.”

Vaccines for Children provides free shots to children covered by Medicaid, a program for people who are uninsured or underinsured. Physicians and clinics in Chicago were finally able to place their orders for Vaccines for Children doses Oct. 8, after a delay from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that pushed back the start of the ordering period, said Jacob Martin, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Public Health. That’s about one month after that vaccine arrived at Chicago area pharmacies.

The rollout of seasonal vaccines this year has been shrouded in confusion and delays. Across the country, states — including Illinois — are breaking away from the CDC and issuing their own vaccination guidelines, contradicting the federal agency.

The US Food and Drug Administration also changed which vaccine manufacturers children could access. Moderna’s vaccine can be used for children 6 months old or older. But the Pfizer vaccine was only approved for children 5 years old and older. There are reports of parents having trouble finding the vaccine for children, even among those with private insurance, The New York Times reported.

The Vaccines for Children program works as a middleman that supplies vaccines to providers, rather than physicians ordering the vaccines directly from the manufacturer, said Dr. Larry Kociolek, vice president for system preparedness, prevention and response at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Normally, there is a lag between the arrival of vaccines that come directly from manufacturers versus those from the Vaccines for Children program, Kociolek said. But in some years, the Vaccines for Children doses have even arrived first, and generally the differences have not caused a significant public health problem.

“This is a very, very unusual year because of the FDA and CDC changes to the language of COVID-19 vaccines, and so the typical process of ordering has been different,” Kociolek said.

On Wednesday, Lurie Children’s Hospital received its supply of COVID-19 doses through the Vaccines for Children program, he said.

Sirota said her practice received a partial shipment of the doses Tuesday. Still, she worries those doses may have come a little too late for some families.

Over the last month as 1,000 children got the COVID-19 shot, she said her office also administered 20,400 doses of the flu vaccine.

“When it comes to these children who we would have needed to use VFC vaccines that have been in our office over these last several weeks, we have not been able to vaccinate them,” Sirota said. “So we’ve had so many missed opportunities. And for some of those families, that opportunity may not come again.”

In the Chicago area, the levels of COVID-19 and the flu remain stable and low, Kociolek said, adding that people still have time to get the seasonal vaccinations.