I feel like I've been holding my breath for like the past year.

Parents like Cassandra Schwartz are finally exhaling.

My baby's been in a grocery store one time in her entire life.

We don't go anywhere that's inside with her, you know,

that's not like a friend's house that we fully vetted or her daycare.

So like I'm excited to be able to like if I need to go grocery shopping and take her with me,

I can do that.

She says because COVID vaccines are now available for kids under five years old.

It took a minute to get here.

Vaccines for children ages five through 11 were authorized last fall.

Then weeks and months slowly ticked by and parents of toddlers like Schwartz wondered.

Hey, remember us when everyone else could get vaccinated.

And the under fives couldn't and the rest of the way and the whole it felt like state and local

and national governments were like, all right, cool.

Everyone's vaccinated.

No more mask mandates.

We don't have to be as careful.

Don't have to worry about social distancing.

And it just felt like we were forgotten.

Well, finally last month, the FDA authorized vaccines for children between six months and five years of age.

And shots started going into tiny arms and thighs.

The parents like Schwartz who are eager to get their very young kids vaccinated are a minority.

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