COVID Q & A: When will the vaccine be available to younger children? Is there still Omicron in my county?

Over the last few months, MLive’s public health team has sought to provide answers to the coronavirus-related readers’ questions that occur throughout the pandemic.

The questions in the last few weeks have been related to the ones COVID-19 pill timeline When Maskman date at school,and Effectiveness of innate immunity..

Below are some of the questions MLive has received in the last two weeks. If you have any COVID related inquiries, [email protected].. Your question may be addressed in future Q & A segments, along with answers based on findings from local, federal and global health authorities and research.

Q: When do they expect the COVID vaccine to be available to very young children (under 5 years old)?

The youngest child may not be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine until the second or third quarter of 2022.

In mid-December, Pfizer coordinated a clinical vaccine trial in children aged 6 months to 5 years, with a population aged 2 to 5 years having an immune response of 16 to 25 years. If the third dose proves to be effective, the company expects to be ready to file an emergency use authorization request with the FDA “in the first half of 2022.”

Moderna is also researching vaccines for children, but has not publicly provided the latest information on the trial. The double dose vaccine will only be available to individuals over the age of 18 as of late 2021.

Q: What is the risk of adolescents under the age of 19 in Michigan dying from COVID-19 infection? What is the risk of serious side effects and death from COVID-19 vaccination for young people under the age of 19?

The mortality rate of the young population has remained low since the beginning of the pandemic, and Michigan has reported 29 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in individuals aged 0-19 years since March 2020. This is compared to the confirmed deaths of 149 in the 20s and 396 in the 30s. , And as of Monday, December 27, 969 people in their 40s. The majority of deaths from COVID in the state were individuals over the age of 60, but have been reported in all age groups.

Regarding vaccines, the state has not reported cases of individuals under the age of 19 dying as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The country has a system for individuals to report side effects and deaths after vaccination (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)). Health officials say the deaths listed in the VAERS are not necessarily confirmed / proven and should not be trusted, but non-suicide entries from Michigan that killed 0-19 people after vaccination. there is no. (There was one VAERS entry in which a teenager committed suicide after vaccination.)

Health authorities, including pediatric specialists, continue COVID-19 is at higher risk than vaccine The main reason for recommending shots to qualified young people, including those over the age of five. As of Wednesday, Michigan reported that more than 665,000 teens and children had at least the first vaccination.

Q: I got a second shot in February, so I have been double vaccinated with Moderna. Then, on October 9, after being tested positive for COVID-19, I was treated with monoclonal antibodies. Do I have to wait 90 days (January 9th) to get the booster, or do I need to get it now?

Health officials recommend waiting at least 90 days after receiving monoclonal antibody therapy before taking a COVID-19 shot. It does not matter whether it is a first dose or a booster. The reason is related to the optimization of the immune response, and doctors say it takes 90 days for the system to recover so that it can provide the best protection when introduced into a vaccine. If vaccinated within that 90 days, there is a risk that the vaccine will not be very effective.

Also, most people appear to be protected from COVID-19 for at least 90 days after being infected with the coronavirus. Therefore, it makes sense to wait for vaccination for that period. If you are worried about reinfection, talk to your doctor to determine the best option.

Q: I took a shot of Johnson & Johnson in March 2021. Boosted in October 2021 with half the amount of Moderna boosters. That is, I had 1.5 shots compared to others who had 2.5 shots. What I’m advised-need to sign up for another full shot of Moderna? Moderna booster?

This was the first time I’ve heard this question, so I did it by Ingham County Health Officer Lindavale. She said that individuals who received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and were boosted with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine were “fully vaccinated and fully boosted.”

Moderna has determined that half the dose of the primary series can provide a safe and effective booster dose, but Vail said it does not mean that it is half as effective. Rather, there is sufficient data that even small doses of the Moderna vaccine can provide an optimal immune response.

Q: Where can I get information about the cases of Omicron reported in Kalamazoo County? Both the state health website and the Kalamazoo County Health Department lack information on the prevalence of new Omicron cases. My wife and I are over 70 years old and want to meet friends and family before Omicron surges and becomes a very real problem.

As of Monday, December 27, there were no known or reported cases of COVID-19 associated with the Omicron variant in Kalamazoo County. But that doesn’t mean that the latest variants of concern haven’t reached the area. The state typically sequences about 400 test samples per week. This is in line with the CDC guidance given by health ministry officials. Health officials cannot confirm that a particular county is not infected with the Omicron variant, as the remaining confirmed cases have not been sequenced.

To track the county for the latest updates and known cases of Omicron, Online COVID-19 dashboard You can scroll down the graphic to download a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet titled “COVID-19 Confirmed Concerns Variants by Jurisdiction”. As of Wednesday, the download included a known number of cases (Omicron and Delta strains) for each county.

Related: Omicron is four times more contagious than Delta.Currently, there are new variants in nine counties in Michigan.

The laboratory process is time consuming and documentation is one to two weeks behind the actual transmission. Combined with the high infection rates across the state dating back to August 11, health officials recommend taking precautions as if the mutant strain of concern was in your area. This includes indoor masking, avoidance of large numbers of people, and vaccination.

If you have a COVID-19 question you would like to answer, [email protected] Will be considered in future MLive reports.

Details of MLive:

CDC recommends shorter quarantine and quarantine for people with COVID

Why is it wrong on the side of attention to vaccinate your child for COVID?

The demand for monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 is high, the supply is low — and Omicron is coming.

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