In early November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 through 11. While this may seem like a long-awaited step on the journey to end the pandemic for some, the decision to vaccinate keiki is daunting for many parents.
According to a national survey, approximately one-third of parents plan to take a “wait-and-see” approach regarding vaccinations for their younger children — despite many of them being vaccinated themselves.
As a pediatrician with over 10 years of experience, I understand that parents naturally scrutinize medical decisions for their keiki, as it is their responsibility to keep them healthy and safe. However, it is precisely for this reason that they should consider their keiki’s vaccination appointment right away.
COVID-19 is a highly contagious illness, and everyone is at risk, no matter their age. This preventable disease is now one of the top 10 causes of death of children in the United States. Even in “mild” cases, children may suffer from a fever, persistent cough, sore throat, muscle aches and nausea that will prevent them (and others in your family) from going to school, seeing friends and gathering for the holidays.
Furthermore, the disease’s potential long-term effects could negatively impact academic performance and involvement in sports and other extracurricular activities. Long COVID symptoms in children, which can last for months, include brain fog, chronic fatigue, body aches, dizziness and breathlessness.
These symptoms and risks are reduced by taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has been thoroughly tested in clinical trials with thousands of children without any serious safety concerns. It is safe and it is free.
The Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 through 11 has the same active ingredients as the vaccine given to adults and adolescents, but at a lower dosage.
It does not give your child COVID-19. However, they may see some side effects as their body builds immunity, including pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache or fever. These will go away in a few days.
It is important to talk to your child about what to expect and explain why it is important that they get vaccinated. Children can get very sick from COVID-19 and are also more likely to spread the virus to others at home and school if unvaccinated. As we celebrate the holidays, we must protect every member of our family and community against COVID-19. Even one child sick with COVID-19 is one too many.
“Keiki no ka oi” is a common phrase in the community, especially amongst pediatricians. Let’s continue to live by this motto and prioritize our children’s health and wellbeing by scheduling their COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
As always, please talk with your child’s health-care provider if you have any questions or concerns. Pediatricians are there to keep your children healthy and provide medical guidance to parents. We are more than happy to provide you with the information you need.
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Bernard Riola, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician at Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation on Kaua‘i. He is passionate about keeping Kaua‘i’s keiki healthy and equipping parents with the knowledge they need to maintain healthy habits moving forward.
Completely agree. I only wish there were policies in place to help the severely needlephobic. My daughter (11) went through an agonizing 2 hours trying to get over her fear at the Wilcox recently. We tried everything, short of immobilizing her (which isn’t allowed). She was just about to have a final attempt when a (male) nurse declared she had spent too long (the clinic was empty) and kicked her out.
Other jurisdictions have options available to help overcome such fear, viewing it rightly as a mental impediment. They offer home visits or tools such as Nitrous Oxide, to allow the shots to take place. I firmly believe such strategic options should be available here on Kauai, and would allow people to be vaccinated who desperately want to be vaccinated but can’t get through their mental health barriers.
Thank you Dr. Riola for providing the care that you do for my children. I will say that my kids had Covid this past summer and it was very mild. I never had to consider bringing them in to the clinic or hospital. Just staying home and taking over the counter medicine for the symptoms seemed to do the trick. I also have not noticed any longer term symptoms such as brain fog or fatigue. I hope that other children that end up aquiring natural immunity do so with mild symptoms as well 🙏💙