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Ohio doctors urging parents and eligible children to get COVID-19 vaccine amid spikes in many states

The amount of people under the age of 20 who have tested positive for the virus jumped to 20% in June, up from the 12% reported in previous months.

CLEVELAND — Ohio Doctors are urging parents and eligible children to get vaccinated as COVID-19 cases rise across America, including in younger Ohioans.

The amount of people under the age of 20 who have tested positive for the virus jumped to 20% in June, up from the 12% reported in previous months. Nationally, cases are rising dramatically among children in Florida and North Carolina.

Cleveland Clinic ICU Dr. Joseph Khabbaza says the country is dealing with a strain of COVID that's much more contagious, and it's easy for unvaccinated people to spread the delta variant in households, including children. Khabbaza says those who can get the vaccine should get it in order to protect one another, especially the youngest among us.

"From June to July the number of cases in kids has doubled," Khabazza told 3News. "I think about my kids -- and my kids are ages 2, 3 and 4 -- and I'm anxiously awaiting until they can get [the vaccine]."

For Cleveland Heights mother Celine McWilliams, she's hoping her daughters received the shots through a Pifzer coronavirus vaccine study.

"It's a gray area for us when we have kids, when we are vaccinated and our kids aren't vaccinated yet, so we want to be prepared if and when the time comes that COVID is affecting our kids," she said.  "It's affecting our kids and the community, and I just think if you are eligible for the vaccine, you should get it ...my kids can do it.”

As of now, the Cleveland Clinic is not seeing a spike in ICU admissions in children, and most kids do not get severely ill when catching the virus. As for when a vaccine will be available for children 12 and under, Dr. Shelly Senders of Senders Pediatrics says that could happen by the end of the year.

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