It worried us to read News staff writer Crystal Nelson’s recent report that less than 5% of Northeast Michigan teens had received the coronavirus vaccine since they became eligible to do so last month.

As of Nelson’s reporting, only 65 out of more than 2,300 12- to 15-year-olds in Northeast Michigan had received both doses of the vaccine, fully protecting them against COVID-19.

We understand parents’ concerns about putting a new drug into their children’s bodies, and join local health officials in encouraging parents to research the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and talk to their family doctors about whether a vaccine is right for their children.

But we hope more parents sign up to protect their kids.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and numerous other health care organizations urge teen vaccination to protect children from COVID-19, help prevent the spread of the virus, and keep kids from contracting serious illnesses even if they do get infected. Those benefits outweigh the risks of rare complications from the vaccine, the CDC says.

We’ve made great strides toward ending this pandemic, but we have to keep pushing until COVID-19 truly rests in the rearview mirror. Vaccinating our kids to keep our schools, playgrounds, and athletic fields safe goes a long way toward helping us do so.