After and leading up to the Food and Drug Administration’s
approval of the COVID-19 vaccination for children under 12
years old last fall, some parents were excited, while others were
concerned. Two Calvert pediatricians, Dr. Bethany God and
Dr. Monica Mehta address some of the common concerns about
the COVID-19 vaccine and children.
Q. What are the risks
and benefits of COVID
vaccination for children?
Dr. God: The risks are the same as
adults for short-term side effects.
The vast majority of people only
have a sore arm. That’s the same
as the placebo. Mild side effects the
first few days are the biggest risks.
Myocarditis (inflammation of the
heart muscle) happens to a very
small percentage of adolescents
and young men and has been mild.
Myocarditis is 30 times more likely
if you were to get COVID.
Dr. Mehta: I keep hearing COVID doesn’t affect children
but that’s simply not true. Pediatric COVID cases have
been surging over the past few months, and there have
been over 600 pediatric deaths from COVID in the U.S.
While the risk of death from COVID is still relatively
low, no parent should lose their child from something
that can be prevented with a vaccine. Everything in life
has a risk-benefit ratio. When it comes to the COVID
vaccine, the benefit is huge: you are not only protecting
yourself from severe disease, but also protecting your
family and community by helping stop the spread of this
deadly virus. Vaccines continue to reduce your risk of
catching COVID. Vaccines are still highly effective at
preventing hospitalization and death from COVID.
Q. What kinds of medical
conditions do you recommend
that parents have a conversation with
the pediatrician before proceeding
with COVID vaccination?
Dr. God: If your child is on an immunosuppressant
or on chemotherapy. There are really
no other health conditions that would make me
say they aren’t a good candidate for the vaccine.
Dr. Mehta: Honestly, very few. The only
contraindications to getting a COVID vaccine are
if you had anaphylaxis with the first dose or one
of the vaccine ingredients. The COVID vaccines
do not contain heavy metals, formaldehyde,
gluten, eggs, wheat, fetal cells, preservatives,
latex, or microchips. Most underlying medical
conditions are reasons to get the vaccine because
those underlying conditions place your child
at risk of more severe disease if they were to
catch COVID.
Q. How does vaccination status of
parents, family and caregivers
impact their children’s health?
Dr. God: It certainly decreases the likelihood the
child would get the disease. We are encouraging
all families to have all eligible adults in the
house get the vaccine. It’s common for children to get COVID from a family member. Kids can get sick
from COVID and have long-term consequences. So, the
less likely they’re exposed, the better.
Q. How do you as a pediatrician stay
up to date on current research about
COVID-19, vaccination, and vaccination of
children?
Dr. Mehta: We are constantly reading! Our sources
are not Google. Rather, we get our information directly
from scientific journals and trusted sources like the
American Academy of Pediatrics as well as attending
seminars by leading pediatricians, immunologists,
vaccine experts and scientists. It’s also mandatory
that board-certified physicians keep up to date on
multiple topics every year (not just COVID but many
other pediatric topics because science is always
helping us provide better and better care).
Q. What is a pediatrician’s role when
it comes to educating families about
COVID vaccination?
Dr. God: It’s essential because we have the best access
to the latest information. We have training in medical
school and our residency on how to look at data and
interpret it. It puts us in a better position to interpret
data when it comes out and educate patients and their
families about their health.
Q. Figures are often cited about the low
number of children who have lasting
effects from COVID-19 infection or death.
How much of an impact should these factors
be when considering vaccination?
Dr. Mehta: It’s all about transmission. Getting
vaccinated stops the chain of transmission and prevents
the virus from being able to use your body to make
new variants. Just because children are less likely to
die or have severe side effects from COVID doesn’t
mean they shouldn’t get vaccinated. The vaccine helps
reduce and prevent the spread of COVID. Kids can
still spread COVID. So, getting the vaccine helps them
break the chain of transmission to others. Getting the
vaccine helps prevent new variants from emerging.
Unvaccinated people make perfect hosts for virus
transmission and allow viruses to mutate and make
new variants.
Q. Some parents
have concerns
about a fast timeline
for vaccine, research,
approval and rollout. How do you respond when
parents express this kind of concern?
Dr. God: The actual length of the trials is the same as other
vaccine trials. The process has been expedited but not the
trials. It’s streamlining the approval process. The actual
study has been done safely and appropriately.
Dr. Mehta: They did make this vaccine quickly! But that
doesn’t mean you should be concerned it wasn’t thoroughly
researched and evaluated. Some information was already
known. The technology used in these vaccines has been
around for decades. The protein structure of COVID’s
spike protein has been known for years. Trials on COVID
vaccines were able to be done quickly because there are
so many cases of COVID. So, researchers were able to test
the effectiveness of the vaccine easily compared to other
vaccine trials. Also, companies prioritized this research
over research on other things during the pandemic! The
FDA expedited the review process. This doesn’t mean they
skipped any steps. Remember the FDA re-analyzes the data
companies provide as a double-check process.
Q. What if a child already had COVID-19? Do
they already have antibodies against it?
Dr. God: When they studied people who had COVID, how
quickly their immunity drops varies wildly between people.
Many children who have been tested 3-6 months after having
COVID have undetectable antibody levels. In adults, there
is a better immune response for those who had COVID and
got vaccinated afterward, and a more predictable immunity.
Absolutely, the recommendation is even if your child has had
COVID to still get vaccinated and follow the same schedule.