COVID-19 vaccines are safe for children. Vaccine use by children in the US goes back more than a hundred years. This vaccine, and vaccines in general, are effective and safe ways to help keep your child and other children healthy.
Vaccines are vital tools that reduce infection and disease rates globally, according to an article in the Patient Safety in Surgery journal. Vaccination use dates back to eleventh-century China. More than 672 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given in the US from December 14, 2020, through March 1, 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Before their approval, COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in clinical trials with tens of thousands of participants. Serious safety problems are rare, and the vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks.
Can My Child Be Vaccinated?
COVID-19 vaccines for children six months and older, with boosters for those five and older, are approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended by the CDC, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Should My Child Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?
The vaccine can prevent a COVID-19 infection and the serious illness that can come with it, including severe lung infections. A long-term COVID-19 complication you may prevent is a multisystem inflammatory syndrome which involves the inflammation of several organs.
Vaccinating your child can also help prevent the infection’s spread to other children and adults. If fewer children develop a COVID-19 infection, it reduces the chances a more dangerous and vaccine-resistant virus variant will develop.
Are There Side Effects?
The injection site may become painful. Your child may feel drowsy, tired, irritable, and have a fever. Side effects generally clear within 48 hours of the vaccination.
Is COVID-19 Vaccine Technology Safe?
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) to trigger an immune response. Traditional vaccines use a fragment of a virus or bacteria to accomplish this. This vaccine uses a piece of a protein found in the COVID-19 virus instead. These vaccines are FDA-approved, and billions of these shots have been used worldwide.
Does the COVID-19 Vaccine Cause Heart Problems?
There are more than a thousand reports of myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation) and pericarditis (heart lining inflammation) after some people received COVID-19 vaccinations in the US since April 2021, according to the CDC. Most of these cases were mild and resolved on their own.
Myocarditis is a much more frequent complication of the COVID-19 infection than of the vaccine. If you’re concerned about your child getting this condition, they are likely better off being vaccinated.
Should a Child With a Pre-existing Condition Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?
Children and teens with pre-existing conditions like autoimmune diseases and diabetes or who take medications that compromise their immune system have a higher risk of complications from a COVID-19 infection, reports the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The approved vaccines can’t cause COVID-19, even in children with weakened immune systems. If a child isn’t allergic to a vaccine ingredient, they may be vaccinated. You should discuss any concerns about a COVID-19 vaccination with your pediatrician.
Do You Have Questions or Concerns About Vaccines?
If so, let’s start the conversation. Call the Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership at 267-291-7882 or complete our online contact form.
