Child COVID-19 vaccination rates low in some Kansas counties

By ANDY TSUBASA FIELD
Associated Press/Report for America

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Data from the Kansas state health department shows that some counties are seeing youth vaccination rates for COVID-19 far below the national average. A school pandemic workgroup received data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment this week showing that in about a quarter of the state’s counties, less than 20% of vaccine-eligible children ages 12 to 17 had received at least one dose as of Sept. 24. U.S. regulators in May expanded the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 12. The national vaccination rate for youth is 57%.