NORFOLK, Va. — Thousands of kids could avoid going to the hospital this winter if a certain number of them get their COVID-19 booster shots.
That’s according to a new study out this week from The Commonwealth Fund.
It comes as children’s hospitals, like CHKD in Norfolk, are near capacity.
Researchers project roughly 50,000 hospitalizations can be avoided this winter if 80% of school-aged children were to get boosted.
But that’s a tall order.
Just 3% of elementary school-aged children across the country have gotten the new Bivalent booster, according to CDC data.
In Virginia, fewer people of all ages are seeking the Bivalent booster.
There’s been a drop in demand since the start of November.
And children already lag behind adults when it comes to vaccinations.
In Hampton Roads, 79% of adults are fully vaccinated, compared to 56% of middle schoolers and 25% of elementary schoolers.
Pediatric hospital beds are already in short supply as kids fight a variety of respiratory illnesses.
The study calls for an accelerated booster campaign, writing “the cost of inaction could be steep," including millions of missed school days and thousands of preventable hospitalizations.
There is a free COVID-19 and flu vaccination clinic on November 19 in Virginia Beach from 10 a.m. to noon at the Kingdom Cathedral.