Here’s What Parents of Children Under 5 Should Know About the COVID Vaccine –

After a noticeable delay, children under 5 years old-the last group eligible for COVID-19 vaccination-can now take their shots.

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration’s external advisory committee unanimously approved a recommendation to use Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for children under 5 years of age after data found that both vaccines were safe and effective. . The FDA officially released the age group vaccines on Friday, followed by the CDC on Saturday.

Due to release days, parents of children under 5 years of age may have questions and concerns related to the vaccine. Experts discuss some of the most common below.

Shots should be available for this age group Always Tuesday. Parents should call their child’s doctor to discuss when and where they can get the vaccine; Some offices may be staffed. Federal pharmacy networks. And public health centers are other options as well.

“Our hope is that within a few weeks, any parent who wants to vaccinate their child will be able to make an appointment,” the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator said. Dr. Ashish Jha Ne spoke to reporters at a briefing recently.

All states except Florida Preordered pediatric COVID vaccines are pending approval. Florida residents may have had access to the footage delayed, according to The Daily Beast, and parents may have relied on getting the vaccine from a pharmacy or community center, rather than from a doctor or hospital.

For children aged 6 months to 5 years, the Moderna vaccine consists of two doses, taken between four weeks. Each is 25 micrograms, which is a quarter of the adult version.

But these numbers don’t tell the whole story. Although staff may not be able to do a good job at preventing infection, “the effectiveness against serious illness in children should be very high for staff from both brands, although there are no clinical that the study reported sufficient hospitalization in COVID. to accurately calculate these statistics “. Journalist Katherine J. Wu wrote for The Atlantic.

CDC data was released in December. It has been found that for millions of vaccinated children between the ages of 5 and 11, the side effects are mostly mild and short-lived. Injection pain, headache, and fatigue are common.

The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only one approved for use in children 5 to 17 years of age. Moderna applied for vaccine clearance for children ages 6 to 17 this week, which was unanimously approved by consultants outside the FDA on Tuesday.

If your child has symptoms after the vaccination, Dr. Ruth Cantula – Assistant Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital – We recommend that you contact your pediatrician.

“Parents may consider giving over-the-counter fever and pain relievers as needed after their child is vaccinated,” he told HuffPost.

However, give your child acetaminophen or ibuprofen soon Taken to prevent side effects Not recommended Because it can reduce the body’s immune response to the vaccine.

It appears that many parents of children under 5 years of age are at least reluctant to vaccinate their children. According to the April Kaiser Family Fund Survey: only 18% of parents of children in this age group say they vaccinate their child as soon as health officials allow. Another 38% say a “wait and see” approach; 27% say they “definitely won’t” vaccinate their child. And 11% said they would only do it if it was necessary for school or daycare.

True, they are small children. Low risk of serious illness From COVID-19. But that risk is not zero, says Cantula, who strongly urges parents to vaccinate their children against COVID-19.

“Children of all ages, and especially children with other conditions – such as children with immunodeficiency, obesity or asthma – are at risk of developing serious illness,” he said. Additionally, children are at risk of developing post-COVID diseases, such as prolonged COVID or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children-or MIS-C.

During a pandemic, more than 30,000 children under 5 were hospitalized The Surgeon General said Dr. Vivek Mert that COVID-19 and nearly 500 have died.

This death “can be prevented by a vaccine,” Drs. Natasha Burger, pediatrician in Overland Park, Kansas.

A study published in the CDC in April found that hospitalization rates were higher as omicron grew. Almost double for unvaccinated 5-11 years, as for vaccinated children in this age group. Approximately one-third of hospitalized patients do not have any major medical condition.

The vaccine not only protects children from serious illness, but also reduces risks to their families and communities. This is especially true. Important for protection Older people, people with compromised immune systems and accompanying diseases, as well as children under 6 months.

“Vaccination in children will reduce the symptoms of the disease and reduce the spread of the virus to others,” Burgert said.

Also consider ways to vaccinate this age group to prevent further delays in their lives.

“Many children have had to close schools for two and a half years, enduring the impact and pain of sick carers and friends – many of them have died,” Wu said. He wrote his article for The Atlantic.

Many parents and carers have expressed frustration at the lack of vaccine clearance among children. These feelings are understandable, Cantula says.

But remember that delays should not be a cause for concern. In fact, the extra time should only boost parents ’confidence in the process.

“Approval of drugs and vaccines for use in children is usually overdue [behind] “Approve the use of both products in the elderly,” Cantula explains. “A lot of work is being done to make medicines safe and effective for children, because children are considered vulnerable.”

“Children are not young adults and researchers know that vaccine doses cannot be split in half for children,” Kantula continued. “Children of different ages have different physiology and physiological reactions. So does the baby’s immune system.”

Burgert said the parents of the young children he sees in his training have no concern about the delay.

“Families want to make sure the vaccine works and is safe, and they are willing to wait for data to prove that both are true,” he said.