Covid vaccinations: Vital for keeping our children safe

COVID-19 is still going strong. The numbers of affected patients go up and down everyday. COVID-19 has been a wake up call for parents everywhere. The virus mainly affects children, but even teenagers and infants have shown signs that they were severely affected by this terrible disease.

Apart from the social distancing norms and hygiene, People’s best hopes rested on vaccines. Fortunately, for infants and teens vaccines are now available and CDC recommends everyone ages 5 and older get a COVID-19 vaccine to help protect against COVID-19.

According to CDC recommendations, Children aged between 5-11 years old and Children/teenagers aged 12-17 years old should receive vaccine shots of Pfizer-BioNTech.

Widespread vaccination for COVID-19 is a critical tool to best protect everyone, especially those at highest risk, from severe illness and death. People who are fully vaccinated can safely resume many activities that they did prior to the pandemic.

Though the risk of children contracting COVID-19 is less compared to adults, they are still vulnerable to the disease they may:

1. Get infected with a certain virus that can cause COVID-19
2. Get severely unwell from COVID-19
3. Develop long and short term health complications from COVID-19
4. Transmit COVID-19 virus to others

It’s important to get vaccinated not just for yourself, but also in order to protect the people around you. Vaccinating your children can help keep them safe from contracting disease and being exposed that way too!

Talking/Counselling your child for the vaccination is equally important. As a guardian one should:

1. Talk to the children and make them understand the process and the expectations post vaccination.
2. Inform doctors of any allergy the child may have.
3. Remain patient during the process as the doctor may advise staying back for 15-30 minutes to ensure the child does not develop any allergic reactions.
4. Posture is important to avoid any injuries post vaccination. Thus, it is advised that your child should be seated or lay down during & post vaccination respectively.

As a responsible parent/guardian, you should get any child/teenager in your family vaccinated. The federal government has announced that they will be providing a free vaccine for COVID-19, regardless of any immigration or health insurance status. It is your task to make sure whether your child’s healthcare provider can offer COVID-19 vaccination.

Local pharmacies can help in finding out possible vaccination walk-ins or appointments in your region or nearby area. The local pharmacy’s website can be a big time saver. State, territorial, local, or tribal health department  may contain lots of information on vaccination centers in your nearby region. Try to contact them.

Your child may develop certain side effects post vaccination such as:

1. 1. • Pain
      • Redness
      • Swelling
      • Tiredness
      • Headache
      • Muscle Pain
      • Chills
      • Fever
      • Nausea

These side effects may hinder your child’s daily activity. These symptoms will go away in a few days.

Disclaimer: This health information is for educational purposes only. You, the reader, assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it.

Citations/References: COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and Teens | CDC