Answer parents’ questions about vaccination of children

This week, vaccine providers around Alaska began offering child-sized Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to children ages 5-11, following federal and state guidance. Here we answer all the questions about eligibility for children and their new vaccines.

Do you have your own question?Drop-in Form It’s at the bottom of the article.

I thought children wouldn’t usually get so sick from COVID-19. Why do health authorities recommend getting vaccinated?

Children are at a much lower risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from COVID-19 than adults, but they are still at risk — provisional Data from CDC Last updated Wednesday reported a total of 680 confirmed COVID-19 deaths nationwide between children under the age of 18 and teens during the pandemic process so far — and Over 8,300 Children between the ages of 5 and 11 were hospitalized with COVID-19 due to a serious illness.

“We know that children are at low risk. This week, in a phone call with the general public and media members, Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s Chief Health Officer, said she had parents. He encouraged young children to talk to their donors about getting vaccinated and said it was a safe and effective choice.

“We were lucky in Alaska. There were no deaths from children (coronavirus),” added Dr. Lisa Rabinowitz, a doctor in Alaska’s health department. However, she said there were 16 cases of children who developed severe inflammatory syndrome after a recent COVID-19 infection, including those who arrived in the pediatric intensive care unit with serious complications.

According to the federal government, this condition, known as Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, or MIS-C for short, can cause inflammation of organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Analysis by the CDC showed that about one-third of children with this condition had no underlying health condition.

In Alaska, “many of them (children of MIS-C) were in the ICU for long-term stays,” she said. “Therefore, children generally get a little better when they get a COVID infection, but they still see children who are very ill and hospitalized,” she said.

Dr. Joe McLaughlin, an epidemiologist in Alaska, says that vaccination of children to prevent them from becoming infected with COVID-19 can also help reduce the infection.

“There are really good epidemiological data showing that children are efficient carriers of the virus to others,” he said.

Can children be vaccinated in the same place as adults?

Often this is the case — parents need to make sure that the clinic they are visiting has access to a Pfizer vaccine, especially for children.

Children can also be vaccinated at the pediatrician’s clinic.

How can I make a reservation?

Parents looking for a child’s vaccine option at an Anchorage area provider can look for their designation at Uncalage Covid Vaxin.org, But not all, many vaccine providers available are listed.

[Relief, excitement and some anxiety as newly eligible Alaska children receive COVID-19 vaccine]

All Alaskans can also call the state’s Coronavirus Helpline (907-646-3322) for search and booking assistance. The telephone line is monitored from 9 am to 6:30 pm on weekdays and from 9 am to 4:30 pm on weekends. A free language interpretation service is available.

What are the side effects that a child may experience?

There were no signs of serious side effects in children, and less serious side effects were generally milder in children than in adults, but small amounts of pain in children at the injection site are the most common side effects, Zinc said. .. Fatigue, headache, and muscle aches are also common side effects that healed in a day or two.

Does the vaccine prevent children as well as adults?

A clinical trial conducted by a pharmaceutical company found that the pediatric vaccine was approximately 90.7% effective against symptomatic COVID-19. This is less than the protection given to adults, but it is high.

I am worried about vaccination of children with something made in such a short period of time. Is it really safe?

These confidence votes were based on clear evidence when a child-sized dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine received an emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week and was also recommended by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. rice field. The benefits of the vaccine clearly outweigh the risks.

“They focused on the risk of COVID to real children, the risk of vaccination, and the risk of vaccination,” Zink said this week. “And it was all these factors that weighed heavily on what made them feel incredibly safe and effective,” she said.

“Comparing the risk of COVID with the risk of vaccines consistently shows that vaccines are much safer than getting COVID,” Zink added.

I heard that younger children need a small amount of vaccine. why is that?

The dose given to children aged 5 to 11 is less, not because of their size, because of their stronger immune system.

“The child’s immune system is really tuned to develop a robust system to fight viruses and bacteria, and is generally really good at responding to vaccines,” Zinc explained.

“Therefore, even if the 12-year-old child is very few, you need to get an adult dose. Even if the 8-year-old child is very large, the child needs to get a dose,” she says. .. Said.