COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Colorado’s youngest kids is among the highest in the country, data shows.

But the state still lags behind administration for other age groups, and rates have fallen since the second week that doses were available.

Six weeks into vaccinations for kids between the ages of 4 and 6 months old, Colorado administered 23,867 doses, enough to give a first dose to 8.2% of the state’s population for that age group. That lags well behind the uptake for 5- to 11-year-olds: During their first six weeks of vaccination eligibility in November, 27% of those kids in Colorado were inoculated against COVID-19.

Colorado is not alone in this trend: Six weeks after vaccinations among kids between 4 and 6 months old were approved, rates have peaked already and have fallen steadily across the United States, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

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Young children were the last to receive approval for COVID-19 vaccines, with approval coming roughly 18 months after adults got the OK and nearly eight months after 5- to 11-year-olds were cleared. Officials in Colorado and elsewhere were expecting approval for younger kids to come in February, but federal regulators requested more data. That delayed approval by four months and over that time, parental enthusiasm for the vaccine dropped markedly across the United States, according to polling conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Though children have been less severely affected by COVID-19 than adults, they can still be infected, can still be symptomatic and need hospitalization. They can also spread the virus, as other age groups can, and further push it into the broader population.

Every other age group has seen a broadly similar trend: initial surge of interest, then waning weekly rates as the hesitant and opposed make up a larger share of the unvaccinated pool. Within six months of adult vaccines arriving in Colorado, for instance, the state launched incentive programs last summer to boost uptake.

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Still, the 4-and-younger age group is different. By the end of the second week of eligibility last month, 4% of young kids in Colorado were inoculated.

In contrast, by the end of the second week for 5- to 11-year-olds, nearly 13% received a first dose. 

The good news, at least for Colorado, is that the state’s still among the best in vaccinating its youngest kids. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Colorado’s rate is the seventh highest in the country and roughly double the national average.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health and Environment said that, like earlier waves of vaccine approval, the most eager parents vaccinated their kids immediately, while others are taking a wait-and-see approach. The agency expects uptake to improve in August, as a return to school nears.

Asked why uptake was lower among this age group than others, the spokeswoman pointed to national polling taken regularly by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The organization found that the share of American parents who were most excited to get their children vaccinated has fallen steadily since January, when 31% of parents said they planned to get their kids vaccinated as soon as possible.

COVID again wiping out performances across Colorado

Meanwhile, the share of parents who are flat-out resistant to vaccinating their kids has grown: In January, 26% of parents said they would “definitely not” vaccinate their youngest kids. In July, that’s grown to 43%. Another 27% are taking a wait-and-see approach, and 13% will only get vaccinations if their children are required to have them.

During a meeting of Colorado health officials in May, Diana Herrero from the state health department said the state was planning to address hesitancy by holding weekly clinics and town halls with parents and providers. 

Asked what the state is doing to improve uptake, the health department’s spokeswoman said the state is “leveraging traditional pediatric healthcare providers” and “offering pediatric COVID-19 vaccines on our mobile vaccine buses throughout the state as a way to increase access to the lifesaving vaccine.”