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KPBS Midday Edition

A doctor's role in kids vaccination effort

A child gets the Pfizer vaccine at Rady Children's Hospital, November 3, 2021.
Rady Children’s Hospital
A child gets the Pfizer vaccine at Rady Children's Hospital, Nov. 3, 2021.

Starting Wednesday, children 5 to 11 can now receive the coronavirus vaccine, but many parents are expressing at least some trepidation when it comes to vaccinating younger children.

A doctor's role in kids vaccination effort
Listen to this story by Kitty Alvarado.

According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, only about 30% of parents with children in the 5 through 11 age group were eager to have their children vaccinated.

The lower-dose vaccine by Pfizer now has emergency use authorization for the younger age group, opening up the vaccine to some 28 million children in the U.S.

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Dr. Bob Gillespie, a physician with Sharp Healthcare and founding member of the San Diego County COVID-19 Equity Task Force, joined Midday Edition to talk about how doctors can better connect with parents when discussing their concerns about vaccinating their children against COVID-19.

Gillespie shared why he feels building trust with patients is so central in the doctor-patient relationship. He also said that, at times, the concerns at the forefront of a doctor's mind may not always match those of their patient.

As an example, Gillespie points to concerns raised about fertility when it comes to coronavirus vaccines, despite the fact that "this is something that we have not even seen a signal that reduction in fertility occurs with the use of these vaccines," Gillespie said.

"So I think one of the things is we have to focus on what the parent's concerns are," he said. "And I think if we do that we have a better chance of making a difference in getting this group of patients vaccinated."