As CDC announces Covid-19 vaccination administration for the age group of 5 to 11, pediatricians are bombarded with questions all across the country.
Parents want answers to thousands of questions that are churning up in their heads regarding the long-awaited vaccine and its after-effects.
Parents have their concerns regarding the effects and after-effects of the Covid-19 vaccine as well as the safety of their children.
We have jotted down some common queries from parents and their answers from renowned pediatricians across America:
Is the Covid-19 vaccine safe for children?
Yes, the Covid-19 vaccine is completely safe for children between the age group of 5 to 11 years.
Dr. Adriana Cedilla, an infectious disease specialist for children in Orlando, Florida states that the vaccines are highly recommended for children in the age bracket of 5 to 11. Her kids are aged 6 and 8 and she got them vaccinated on Saturday.
She stated, “we administer vaccines, we promote vaccines, and we would not recommend something that we wouldn’t do for our child.”
“The side effects that you see with a vaccine are mild in comparison to if you did have acute Covid-19,” Cedilla said. “Vaccine is by far a safer choice.”
Can a child get myocarditis after Covid-19 vaccine administration?
Heart inflammation which is also known as pericarditis or myocarditis is another major concern of the parents. According to the data provided by CDC, no cases of heart inflammation were reported during the test trial of the Pfizer vaccine.
Dr. Gigi Chawla, Head of General Pediatrics in Minnesota Children’s Hospital stated that heart inflammation is a much bigger risk if a person or a child catches covid-19.
“Myocarditis is part of the illness that can be experienced by people with Covid-19,” she said. “The rates of people having myocarditis associated with illness versus vaccines are far greater for illness. So if a family truly is concerned about myocarditis, they should be vaccinated.”
Can the Covid-19 vaccine impact fertility?
Dr. Anna Sick-Samuels who is an Assistant Professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins hospital stated “I don’t know that there’s any reason to believe that Covid-19 vaccination would have any impact on fertility”
“There’s no clear biologic link that the vaccine would even have,” she said. “There’s not a general reason that, or theory why, a vaccine of any kind should have an impact on fertility.”
Why is the Covid-19 vaccine administered according to age bracket?
Dr. Stanley Spinner, Chief Medical Officer at Texas Children’s Hospital stated “medicines work differently than vaccines.” “If you give a full adult dose of [a drug] to a very small child, their liver or kidneys may not be able to manage that full dose.” he said. “But vaccines are inducing an immune response. So it doesn’t matter what your weight is. It’s really based on the immune response and that is more age-related.”
Vaccinating children will not only protect them but will also help the community to be more protective and return to normalcy quickly.
