COVID is one of the top five causes of child death. I’m relieved my 1-year-old

Of course, my decisions to get us both vaccinated were made only after poring over data and consulting with my doctor.

As the senior adviser for the California Department of Public Health’s vaccine task force, I am inundated with coronavirus infection trends, surrounded by research and data day-in and day-out. I’ve learned that COVID-19 is one of the top five causes of child death. During last winter’s omicron surge, COVID-19 hospitalizations for kids ages 4 and under were five times higher than when the delta variant was circulating earlier — and 1 in 5 kids hospitalized with the virus was admitted to the intensive care unit. My husband also works in health care, where he hears cases of patients in the ICU fighting for their lives.

These are all constant reminders of how COVID-19 continues to ravage families and why we need to continue to look out for one another.

Knowing these facts firsthand had made me anxious while pregnant and during Ellie’s infancy. As parents, we want to do everything we can to protect the proverbial lights of our lives. I felt helpless without a vaccine during Ellie’s delicate first year.

That concern for loved ones spills over into the home that we share with my parents. My mother takes care of Ellie while my husband and I work, and my dad is highly vulnerable to the most serious consequences of COVID-19. Years ago, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and his surgical treatment left him with about 75% lung capacity.

Like other multigenerational households, we’ve taken extraordinary care to keep ourselves and one another protected against the virus — masking, isolating if we don’t feel well, limiting interactions with non-family members and receiving all eligible vaccine doses. We are extra careful to avoid places where the coronavirus might be circulating. Regrettably, our family has missed out on a lot of activities.

That’s why I was thrilled when vaccines for all family members finally became available. I was heartened to know that thousands of infants and toddlers as young as 6-months-old were part of robust clinical trials that demonstrated the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness for our youngest children.

I feel fortunate to live in a country that rigorously researches and tests vaccines before they are authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and for California’s added layer of review through an independent panel in partnership with Washington, Oregon and Nevada that examines the data.

In fact, the COVID-19 vaccine is just one of many…