The shots will become available next week, expanding the nation’s vaccination campaign to children as young as 6 months.
Advisers to the
“We know millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can,” Walensky said in a statement.
While the
The shots offer young children protection from hospitalization, death and possible long-term complications that are still not clearly understood, the
The government has already been gearing up for the vaccine expansion, with millions of doses ordered for distribution to doctors, hospitals and community health clinics around the country.
Roughly 18 million kids will be eligible, but it remains to be seen how many will ultimately get the vaccines. Less than a third of children ages 5 to 11 have done so since vaccination opened up to them last November.
Here are some things to know:
WHAT KINDS ARE AVAILABLE?
Two brands —
Pfizer’s vaccine is for children 6 months to 4 years old. The dose is one-tenth of the adult dose, and three shots are needed. The first two are given three weeks apart, and the last at least two months later.
Moderna’s is two shots, each a quarter of its adult dose, given about four weeks apart for kids 6 months through 5 years old. The FDA also approved a third dose, at least a month after the second shot, for children with immune conditions that make them more vulnerable to serious illness.
HOW WELL DO THEY WORK?
In studies, vaccinated youngsters developed levels of virus-fighting antibodies as strong as young adults, suggesting that the kid-size doses protect against coronavirus infections.
However, exactly how well they work is hard to pin down, especially when it comes to the
Two doses of
SHOULD MY LITTLE ONE BE VACCINATED?
Yes, according to the CDC’s advisers. While COVID-19 has been the most dangerous for older adults, younger people, including children, can also get very sick.
Hospitalizations surged during the omicron wave. Since the start of the pandemic, about 480 children under age 5 are counted among the nation’s more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths, according to federal data.
“It is worth vaccinating even though the number of deaths are relatively rare, because these deaths are preventable through vaccination,” said Dr.
WHICH VACCINE SHOULD MY CHILD GET?
Either one, said Dr.
“Whatever vaccine your health care provider, pediatrician has, that’s what I would give my child,’’ Marks said Friday.
The doses haven't been tested against each other, so experts say there’s no way to tell if one is better.
One consideration: It takes roughly three months to complete the
WHO'S GIVING THE SHOTS?
Pediatricians, other primary care physicians and children’s hospitals are planning to provide the vaccines. Limited drugstores will offer them for at least some of the under-5 group.
“We’re going see vaccinations ramp up over weeks and even potentially over a couple of months,” Jha said.
CAN CHILDREN GET OTHER VACCINES AT THE SAME TIME?
It’s common for little kids to get more than one vaccine during a doctor’s visit.
In studies of the
But problems have not been identified in older children or adults when COVID-19 shots and other vaccinations were given together, and the
WHAT IF MY CHILD RECENTLY HAD COVID-19?
About three-quarters of children of all ages are estimated to have been infected at some point. For older ages, the
Experts have noted re-infections among previously infected people and say the highest levels of protection occur in those who were both vaccinated and previously infected.
The
___
___
© 2022 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source