As new variants of COVID-19 continue to circulate and vaccine uptake among younger children remains low, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project held a webinar on August 18th via Facebook Live aimed at addressing parents’ ongoing questions since the EUAs were granted, and discussing ways to increase confidence in the shots for the latest eligible children.

Featured speakers included:

• Dr. Sarah Meyer, Chief Medical Officer, CDC’s Immunization Services Division
• Dr. Ada Stewart, Board Chair, American Academy of Family Physicians
• Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, Pediatrician at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian Hospital, Executive Committee Member, American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communication and Media
• The discussion was moderated by Jessica Herndon, editorial director of CafeMom.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project hosted a Facebook Live event to address key questions and considerations related to younger children and the vaccine. The event featured a panel of CDC and FDA experts to discuss how the clinical trials were conducted for this age group, the regulatory approval process and address parents’ top questions to help build confidence in the vaccine for children 6 months-4 years old.

Participants included:

• Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)
• Dr. Sara Oliver, ACIP Work Group lead, Medical Officer in the Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
• Patsy Stinchfield, MS, CPNP, past voting member and current liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) representing the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), President-Elect of National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)

Pandemic Fallout: A Dangerous Decline in Vaccination for America’s Children

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Given the recent Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 vaccination of children ages 5-11, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project convened a webinar aimed at addressing key questions and considerations related to younger children and the vaccine. A panel of health experts discussed how the clinical trials were conducted for this age group, the regulatory approval process that was followed and addressed parents’ top questions to help build confidence in the vaccine for children 5-11.

Participants included:

• Dr. Takeisha Davis, CEO of New Orleans East Hospital
• Dr. Bert Johansson, Executive Board Member of National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA)
• Dr. Todd Wolynn, CEO and Founding Physician of Kids Plus Pediatrics

This discussion was moderated by Dr. Lucy McBride, Practicing Internal Medicine Physician.

With children 12 years of age and older eligible for COVID-19 vaccination and families gearing up for the start of a new school season, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project convened a webinar intended to answer commons questions about the vaccine and provide parents with the information they need to include vaccination as part of their school-ready checklist on August 3^rd.

Confirmed participants included:

• Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor on COVID-19 to the president
• Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration
• Dr. Lee Savio Beers, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, professor of Pediatrics and the medical director for Community Health and Advocacy at Children’s National Hospital
• Linda Mendonca, DNP, RN, PHNA-BC, NCSN, FNASN, President of the National Association of School Nurses
• Karyne Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc. and co-convener of the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Equity Project
• Sue Peschin, President and CEO of Alliance for Aging Research and co-convener of the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Equity Project

With summer camps, sports leagues and the rollout of vaccines for adolescents underway across the country, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project convened a discussion around building confidence in and ways to increase access to vaccines for children age 12-17 on July 1st.

Speakers included:

• Laura Blaisdell, MD/MPH, FAAP, Medical Director at Camp Winnebago, Vice President of Maine AAP and founding member of Maine Families for Vaccines
• Dr. Amanda Cohn, Chief Medical Officer of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Executive Secretary of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; CAPT, US Public Health Service
• Jessica Gamaché, Director, United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries Association

Sue Peschin, President and CEO of Alliance for Aging Research and co-convener of the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Equity Project moderated the discussion.

Watch the “Exploring the COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Approval Process for Adolescents” webinar featuring a panel of pediatric and family medicine experts discussing how the clinical trials were done for 12-15 year-olds, the regulatory approval process that was followed and addressing parents’ top questions to help build confidence in the vaccine for adolescents. Panelists included:

• Dr. Peter Marks: director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration
• Dr. Ada D. Stewart, MD, FAAFP, a family physician with Cooperative Health in Columbia, South Carolina, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians
• Patsy Stinchfield, MS, CPNP, past voting member and current liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) representing the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), President-Elect of National Foundation for Infectious Diseases

Beth Battaglino, RN-C, CEO of HealthyWomen and a co-convener of the project moderated this discussion.