Everyone in the U.S. 6 months or older is now eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized the shots in June for very young children, from 6 months to 5 years old. They’re the last age demographic in the U.S. to become eligible to get vaccinated during the pandemic.

Despite the regulatory green light, many parents of young children are wondering whether it’s even necessary to get their kids vaccinated at this point in the pandemic, since infections have become so common and, in general, the virus causes relatively mild symptoms in most kids.

But while studies that follow kids for longer periods of time are ongoing, the current evidence points to more benefits …