Coronavirus vaccine for youngest kids ready this week

Coronavirus vaccines for kids 6 months to 4 years were expected to arrive in Marin this week after federal authorities authorized emergency use of the Pfizer and Moderna shots.

The news comes as Marin and much of the rest of the U.S. is experiencing ongoing high rates of community transmission from omicron subvariants, with the county averaging more than 100 new reported daily cases since May 6 — a figure largely viewed as underreported due to the prevalence of at-home self-testing. The current surge is the second largest of the pandemic and is about to become the longest-lasting: At 49 days, the duration of sustained high transmission in Marin is set to match that of the original winter omicron surge today, June 22.

Some 113 kids ages 4 and younger have been reported to be infected in the past month, according to Marin Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis, which he called a significant underestimate.

“Up until now, about 8,000 of our residents — everyone under age 5 — has been excluded from the protection of vaccines because they were just too young and not eligible,” Willis said in a video statement June 17.

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