COVID vaccine for kids may be a good idea, says Mayo doctor

Children could start getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as next week.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is supporting shots for children ages 5-11.

Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald of the Mayo family medicine department in La Crosse thinks there is merit in having kids get the vaccine.

He says that’s because many kids who have been sick have shown long-term symptoms common to adults.

“We are seeing some children who do not have risk factors who are ill enough to be in the hospital,” Fitzgerald said Wednesday on WIZM’s La Crosse Talk, “and more importantly, getting some long-standing COVID symptoms that are lasting.”

Fitzgerald added that a large portion of the population will need immunity — from vaccines or infection — to finally get COVID under control.

“Do we need to get to 80 or 90% of the community that has some immunity from one venue or another?” he asked. “I think that’s where we need to get to.”