COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5 ready to roll as LA County schools see rise in cases

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Despite the steady rise in cases, Los Angeles County appears to be getting a small window of opportunity to change things.

Officials had predicted the triggering of universal mask mandates could come in the next two weeks. This gives L.A. a chance to slow transmission.

With the slight leveling off of cases this past week, new modeling estimates L.A. County's projected move to a higher risk level could occur in early July rather than later this month.

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said taking action now could change the trajectory.

"Should we reduce the number of new cases over these next two weeks, we could see a subsequent decline in hospital admissions a couple of weeks later," she said.

Compared to a month ago, Ferrer reported a doubling of COVID cases among transition kindergarten to 12th grade students and staff.

Before summer activities begin, Ferrer is encouraging parents to get their kids vaccinated and boosted.

"Over the past three months, unvaccinated children ages 12 to 17 in L.A. County were nearly four times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated children in the same age group," said Ferrer.

Meanwhile, the approval process is underway for COVID vaccines for children under the age of five. The White House is preparing a quick rollout to doctors' offices, pharmacies and children's hospitals.

"It means we could see shots in the arms of kids under five as early as the week of June 20," said Dr. Ashish Jha, White House COVID Response Coordinator.

"We estimate that 85% of children under the age of five live within five miles of a potential vaccination site," said Dawn O'Connell, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Preparedness and Response.

If both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are authorized, 10 million doses of both brands are expected to be available.

However, there may be some pushback from parents. So far, states have only ordered 2.3 million doses.

"Vaccine confidence builds over time. It builds with trusted voices, physicians, faith leaders," said Jha. "That's what we have seen for kids 12 and above. We're continuing to see that with kids five to 11 and we expect that to be an ongoing journey for kids under five."

L.A. County health officials said their orders for children under five vaccines are already in.

As for how parents should choose between Pfizer and Moderna, the U.S. Surgeon General said much of that guidance will come from Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's review of the data scheduled for next week.