Terry Golaner is counting the days until her two youngest children can be vaccinated against the coronavirus, continuing with masks and careful consideration of social activities.

“I feel like my two younger ones potentially could be sitting ducks,” the Pikesville mother said. “At some point we all may have COVID, but I want them to have the vaccine because I don’t want them to end up in the hospital or with long-haul COVID or die.”

The wait is frustrating, especially with much of the public moving on from the pandemic as cases plummet and mandates lift.

What’s worse for public health officials staring down a possible new wave of infections from another omicron subvariant called BA.2 is the fear other parents won’t see a need to get their kids vaccinated when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes it for children under age 5, as soon as this month.

Effectiveness is definitely a concern among the vaccine-hesitant, said the Rev. Derrick DeWitt, senior pastor of First Mount Calvary Baptist Church.

DeWitt was enlisted as a messenger, serving as a vaccine ambassador for the state of Maryland, encouraging everyone, but especially African Americans, to get their shots.

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