Miracle Epps, 5, receives a coronavirus vaccine at a clinic inside Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary in Glenarden, Maryland, on Nov. 8 as her brother Emmanuel Jones (left), 6, who got his shot earlier, looks on. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
Miracle Epps, 5, receives a coronavirus vaccine at a clinic inside Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary in Glenarden, Maryland, on Nov. 8 as her brother Emmanuel Jones (left), 6, who got his shot earlier, looks on. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)

More than a quarter of children ages 5 to 11 in Maryland and Virginia have now been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

As of Thursday, 132,039 Maryland residents between 5 and 11, or 25.35% of that age group, had received at least one vaccine dose, according to state health department data.

In Virginia, 183,465 children between 5-11 have gotten at least one dose, or about 25.4% of that group, according to state statistics.

D.C.’s most recent update on Nov. 29 shows that 6,074 residents ages 5-11 have been at least partially vaccinated, equaling about 10% of that group, WJLA-TV (Channel 7) reported.

Vaccinations for children between 5 and 11 years old began in earnest nationwide after the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency-use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for that age group on Oct. 29 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a formal recommendation four days later.

Since then, roughly 4.8 million of U.S. children of that age, or about 16.7%, have received at least one shot, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

This correspondent is a guest contributor to The Washington Informer.

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