{"id":1063,"date":"2021-04-12T16:21:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T16:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prd-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=1063"},"modified":"2021-04-20T16:23:58","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T16:23:58","slug":"kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know?","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
By Kalyn Kinomoto<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

\u201cVaccine envy\u201d is phenomenon with adults who are anxious about waiting for their turn to get the vaccine, and it\u2019s also the case for parents and children. Why are there age restrictions on which kids can get the vaccine now? What comorbidities qualify a child now? If parents are fully vaccinated, how can they protect their children? What questions should they ask their pediatrician? Should pregnant teens be concerned?<\/p>\n

Mary Fairchok, MD, Mary Bridge Children’s infectious diseases physician, shares the latest information about kids and the COVID-19 vaccine, including answering common questions and giving insight on the importance of the vaccine for pediatric populations.<\/p>\n

What kids can get the vaccine now? How do they qualify?<\/h4>\n

Right now, the Pfizer vaccine is available for teens 16 years old and above, with two or more comorbidities. Those comorbidities include things like chronic illnesses that affect most of the organs in the body, such as pulmonary diseases like asthma or cystic fibrosis, neurologic diseases, hematological diseases like sickle cell or cancer, and any kind of immunocompromised condition, according to Dr. Fairchok. A list of qualifying conditions can be found on the\u00a0Centers for Disease Control’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The good news is that all teens older than 16 will qualify for the vaccine as of April 15, so the wait will soon be over for that population. It\u2019s yet to be determined when younger children will be eligible, based on when one or more of the vaccines are approved for use in children.<\/p>\n

What is so important about age restrictions? My child is sick and should qualify now.<\/h4>\n

\u201cI certainly understand the anxiety,\u201d said Dr. Fairchok. \u201cWe have to do this in a safe and scientific way. We don\u2019t test things in children until we are sure that they\u2019re safe and effective in adults, to provide that extra layer of security because children cannot consent for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Fairchok said that it is standard practice in clinical trials to start with adults and the specific age of children depends on how the pharmaceutical companies structured the studies and trial approvals.<\/p>\n

Pfizer recently released information on the additional clinical trials it held for children ages 12 to 16, and reports that it is 100 percent effective in protecting this patient population from symptomatic disease.<\/p>\n

Similar to the process for approving vaccine in adults, manufacturers submit for an emergency use authorization under the Food and Drug Administration before the vaccine can be used in children. Dr. Fairchok anticipates younger children will soon qualify for the vaccine and companies will begin enrolling even younger children in clinical trials and studies.<\/p>\n

What kinds of questions should I ask my child\u2019s pediatrician? What can my teen talk to their doctor about the vaccine?<\/h4>\n

Dr. Fairchok encourages parents and teens to ask any questions that come to mind. \u201cIf they\u2019re fearful about reactions or about what it would do to their fertility, these are some of the things that have come out that people are worried about,\u201d she said. \u201cCertainly, their pediatrician can reassure them that these vaccines are safe. We have no evidence to suggest or think that there\u2019s going to be any long-term consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Fairchok said it\u2019s also a good opportunity to talk to your child\u2019s doctor about their current health and if there are things that might qualify your child for a vaccine now, or in the unlikely case, any contraindications that might require you to wait longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very few contraindications to any of the three vaccines that we currently have,\u201d she said. The biggest one is severe allergies to components of the vaccine, including polysorbate found in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and polyethylene glycol, which is commonly found in laxatives and is a component of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.<\/p>\n

If younger people are less impacted by COVID-19, why is still important to get the vaccine?<\/h4>\n

While young people are much less likely to have a severe reaction to the coronavirus, they aren\u2019t exempt from getting it. Dr. Fairchok said her very healthy 27-year-old daughter was hospitalized for a week with it, and she had never seen her that sick before. She encourages teens and young adults to do their part in keeping society healthy and not assume that they\u2019re invulnerable to the virus, as younger adults and children can also pass the virus to others, even if they don’t get very sick themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany young adults are just over it and understandably want to socialize and have fun,\u201d she said. \u201cThe message parents can give to their young adult children or their teenage children is to be respectful to other member of society and do your part to help end this by following the public health guidelines and recommendations.\u201d<\/p>\n

If parents are fully vaccinated, what should they do to protect their families?<\/h4>\n

\u201cFirst of all, I would just love to congratulate them and applaud them for what they\u2019ve done, because they have done the key thing, the most important thing they could possibly do to protect their children. I hope more parents will continue to do that,\u201d Dr. Fairchok said.<\/p>\n

She says parents should continue to follow the advice provided throughout the pandemic, including not going into crowded and unventilated areas with your children, teaching your kids to wash their hands, remembering to keep their distance in public spaces, and if they\u2019re old enough, teaching them to wear their masks properly.<\/p>\n

As a pediatric infectious diseases doctor, what encourages you about the headway we\u2019re making with COVID-19 vaccines?<\/h4>\n

\u201cThis has been an amazing time to show how robust science is in our country. I mean, there’s never been anything like it to get this vaccine as quickly,\u201d Dr. Fairchok said.<\/p>\n

As more information comes in about how well the vaccines work and how long they last, there is also increasing evidence that the vaccines protect against asymptomatic infection and transmission of COVID-19. Dr. Fairchok encourages people to live in optimism and realize that the best minds in the country and around the world are working on solving this problem but have already achieved so much.<\/p>\n

For more information about COVID-19, visit our\u00a0vaccine page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kalyn Kinomoto \u201cVaccine envy\u201d is phenomenon with adults who are anxious about waiting for their turn to get the vaccine, and it\u2019s also the case for parents and children. Why are there age restrictions on which kids can get the vaccine now? What comorbidities qualify a child now? If parents are fully vaccinated, how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-covid-19","category-kids-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know? - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know? - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Kalyn Kinomoto \u201cVaccine envy\u201d is phenomenon with adults who are anxious about waiting for their turn to get the vaccine, and it\u2019s also the case for parents and children. Why are there age restrictions on which kids can get the vaccine now? What comorbidities qualify a child now? If parents are fully vaccinated, how […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-12T16:21:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-20T16:23:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/placeholder-default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"931\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kalyn Kinomoto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kalyn Kinomoto\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/acc260c975246d09bcedeaa4231508e7\"},\"headline\":\"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-12T16:21:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-20T16:23:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1048,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"COVID-19\",\"Kids' Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know? - MultiCare Vitals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-12T16:21:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-20T16:23:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Vitals\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MultiCare\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":409,\"caption\":\"MultiCare\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/multicarehealthsystem\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/multicarehealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/multicare-health-system\\\/mycompany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/multicarehealth\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/acc260c975246d09bcedeaa4231508e7\",\"name\":\"Kalyn Kinomoto\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/author\\\/kalynkinomoto\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know? - MultiCare Vitals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know? - MultiCare Vitals","og_description":"By Kalyn Kinomoto \u201cVaccine envy\u201d is phenomenon with adults who are anxious about waiting for their turn to get the vaccine, and it\u2019s also the case for parents and children. Why are there age restrictions on which kids can get the vaccine now? What comorbidities qualify a child now? If parents are fully vaccinated, how […]","og_url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/","og_site_name":"MultiCare Vitals","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","article_published_time":"2021-04-12T16:21:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-20T16:23:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":931,"height":540,"url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/placeholder-default.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kalyn Kinomoto","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/"},"author":{"name":"Kalyn Kinomoto","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/acc260c975246d09bcedeaa4231508e7"},"headline":"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know?","datePublished":"2021-04-12T16:21:04+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-20T16:23:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/"},"wordCount":1048,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"articleSection":["COVID-19","Kids' Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/","name":"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know? - MultiCare Vitals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-12T16:21:04+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-20T16:23:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/kids-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-what-do-parents-need-to-know\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kids and the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014What do parents need to know?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","name":"MultiCare Vitals","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization","name":"MultiCare","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","width":1500,"height":409,"caption":"MultiCare"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/multicarehealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/multicare-health-system\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/multicarehealth"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/acc260c975246d09bcedeaa4231508e7","name":"Kalyn Kinomoto","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/author\/kalynkinomoto\/"}]}},"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1063"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1075,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063\/revisions\/1075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}