Mother and father of children below 5 will begin getting messages right now from the state well being division, urging them to get their kids vaccinated towards COVID-19 earlier than preschools are again in session.
Final week, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention advisable that kids between six months and 5 years obtain both three doses of the Pfizer vaccine or two of the Moderna shot. Each comprise the identical components because the pictures given to adults and older children, however in smaller doses.
Infants youthful than six months aren’t eligible for the pictures, however can obtain some protection from severe illness if their moms get vaccinated throughout being pregnant.
It takes between 11 and 16 weeks to finish the Pfizer sequence and 4 to eight weeks for Moderna, stated Heather Roth, immunization department chief on the Colorado Division of Public Well being and Surroundings. Meaning mother and father shouldn’t delay if they need their kids to be protected earlier than faculty begins, particularly for the reason that physique doesn’t develop its highest degree of safety till about two weeks after the ultimate shot, she stated.
“Now could be the proper time,” she stated.
Kids are at a decrease threat of extreme COVID-19 than adults, however had much less safety through the omicron wave this winter than they did earlier within the pandemic, stated Dr. Eric France, chief medical officer for the state well being division. Hospitalization charges for COVID-19 amongst children below 5 have been roughly double the percentages of being hospitalized for chickenpox earlier than that vaccine turned obtainable, and have been corresponding to the speed attributable to seasonal flu, he stated. About one-quarter of youngsters in that age group hospitalized for COVID-19 between December and February frolicked in an intensive care unit.
“As a pediatrician and a public well being physician, I’m thrilled” to have vaccines for youthful kids, he stated.
Unwanted side effects are corresponding to what’s been seen in adults, together with muscle ache, chills, tiredness, complications and fevers. Kids who aren’t sufficiently old to explain signs generally confirmed elevated crying and irritability, or decreased urge for food for a number of days after the shot. The percentages of unwanted side effects look like slightly higher with the Moderna shots, although mother and father whose children are significantly averse to needles could desire its two-shot routine.
“In the end, I don’t assume there’s a foul selection, and I encourage mother and father to take the vaccine that’s obtainable to them,” Roth stated.
Roth stated 381 kids obtained their first pictures Wednesday, and that quantity will doubtless rise as studies are available all through the day. Uptake has been gradual amongst older children, although, and solely about 37% of these between 5 and 11 have been vaccinated in Colorado.
State regulation permits mother and father to take paid break day work to get their kids vaccinated, France stated. Photographs will likely be obtainable by physician’s places of work, some pharmacies, the state’s vaccine buses and one-time occasions. For info on the place your little one can get the shot, name 877-268-2926 or go to covid19.colorado.gov/kids-vaccines.
Subscribe to bi-weekly newsletter to get health news sent straight to your inbox.