It appears that a fair number of parents of young children in Arlington are still on the fence about the sensibility of inoculating their offspring against COVID.
In the most recent (March 28) data put out by the county government, 67 percent of youth ages 5 to 11 in the county have had at least one COVID-vaccination shot, and most of those have had both shots.
But that still leaves more than 5,600 in that age group who have not received the shots, mirroring national trends and spotlighting concerns among parents about the risks-vs.-reward calculus of such not-as-yet-fully-vetted vaccines on younger students.
Vaccinations for the 5-to-11 age group started last fall in the U.S., meaning parents interested in getting the vaccines for their children have had the time to do so.
County data suggest that virtually all youth ages 12 to 18 in Arlington have been vaccinated with at least one shot. But those youth were eligible for vaccines before the 5-to-11 group, and before what appears to have been a counteroffensive against the COVID vaccine for youngsters took hold in many quarters.
Among other age groups, the 25-to-34 cohort of Arlington residents continues to be somewhat resistant to vaccinations (again, perhaps, because of the risk-vs.-reward calculus), with only 81 percent having had at least one shot. The rate was 89 percent among the 45-to-54 age group, higher in other age groups.