You will be able to choose to have your children under five years old vaccinated against COVID-19 in Door County by the second week of July. The Centers for Disease Control authorized the COVID-19 vaccine for the country’s youngest individuals over the weekend after getting its approval from the Food and Drug Administration last week. Door County COVID-19 Response Coordinator Bill Hartmann says they have not received many calls from parents about the vaccine as they wait for the final guidance from the state.

Hartmann says families should talk to their doctors to help make the right decision on whether or not their kids get vaccinated. Of the 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 in the state since the beginning of the pandemic, 8.5 percent have involved children under the age of nine. The age group also accounts for one percent of those hospitalized and less than one percent of those who have died. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that public health officials believe the vaccination rate for those under five to be even lower than what is seen for those under the age of 11, which is just shy of 32 percent in Door County.