As summer turns to fall, and children are back at school, it is time to prepare for the winter season of respiratory virus transmission. Updated vaccines for the 2024-2025 season have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and are now available to the public.
Equitable distribution and access to the COVID-19 vaccine is critical to reducing health disparities across racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Yet vaccination rates for COVID-19 have decreased substantially over time: 22.5% of adults received a 2023-2024 updated vaccine, and only 15% of those adults are 18 to 45 years old (COVIDVax, May 2024). According to the National Immunization Survey, 16.6% of children ages 5 to 17 report being vaccinated, and significant health disparities exist. Black and Hispanic children reported lower vaccination rates (10.9% and 14.2%, respectively) compared to White children (15.2%). Household income is also related to vaccination rates, with children who live just above the poverty level (household income <$75,000) having the lowest rates of vaccination at 9.4%, followed by children living under the poverty level at 11.0%. The highest rates are among children who live in households with an income ≥$75,000, with a vaccination rate of 17.9%.
Private health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid will still cover preventative vaccines at no cost, including COVID-19 and influenza, and programs like Vaccines for Children help fill gaps for children who are uninsured. Discontinuation of the Bridge Access Program, which provided funding to cover vaccination for uninsured and underinsured individuals, has left millions of Americans to cover the cost of the booster themselves, which can be upwards of $200 per dose. This may be cost prohibitive for some families, leaving them more vulnerable to infection (Washington Post, 2024).
Disparities in childhood vaccination coverage for COVID-19 can lead to downstream consequences, ranging from multi-inflammatory system syndrome to time lost learning in school due to being out sick. Children are also not immune from long COVID, which can cause a host of symptoms like brain fog and fatigue, making it hard to concentrate and retain information in class (CDC, long COVID symptoms). The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University found that learning loss during the pandemic, particularly in math, was associated with local COVID-19 mortality rates. This decline in academic achievement disproportionately affected districts with higher proportions of Black, Hispanic and low-income students (Education Recovery Scorecard, May 2023).
As the 2024-2025 academic year gets underway, it is important to vaccinate students against COVID-19 and other childhood illnesses to ensure they stay healthy and engaged in school. Inequitable vaccination distribution will only exacerbate existing disparities in our community.