They are finally here! COVID-19 vaccines were finally approved for children aged 6 months to 5 years. Studies have been performed in children showing definite protective benefits and no significant adverse reactions have occurred. The first step was FDA approval after an advisory group deliberated the week of June 13, just 2 days, to vote unanimously to recommend the permit, stating that the benefits outweigh the risks to young children.
The CDC signed the vaccines on June 18 with another unanimous vote. Both vaccines consist of the adult mRNA version of Pfizer, but a very low dose of 3 micrograms instead of 30 micrograms, administered in three doses to induce a high level of antibodies equivalent to young adults. The first two doses are separated by three weeks, and the third at least two months later. The study found only 10 cases of COVID in the three-dose group and seven in the placebo group for 80% efficacy. The study included only a small number of patients. Most infectious disease experts and pediatricians warned not to lose sight of the fact that vaccines were saving children’s lives.
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The Moderna mRNA vaccine is the same as the adult, but only a quarter of the dose at 25 micrograms in a series of two doses administered four weeks apart. Both this vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine achieved the same levels of immunity that have protected young adults from serious illness. None of the vaccines developed against COVID-19 have achieved the ideal of eliminating the infection. But they have saved many lives.
In children, the risk of COVID is very real, although hospitalization and deaths are lower than in adults. In children aged 1 to 4 years, COVID is the fifth leading cause of death. A source who analyzed the period from January 2020 to May 2022 said 202 children in this age group died from COVID. Another source cited 480 children killed by COVID. This means more deaths per year than hepatitis, meningitis, rotavirus and other common infectious diseases each caused before routine vaccinations were recommended. And the risk was not limited to any particular group. More than half of the young people hospitalized due to COVID did not have any underlying disease.
These vaccines have proven to be some of the safest for adults. In preliminary studies in this age group, adverse reactions / side effects were mostly mild and of short duration, very similar to those of adults and similar to those of other vaccines. The main one was pain and redness or tenderness at the injection site. There may be some irritability, fatigue or drowsiness, loss of appetite, headache, abdominal pain or discomfort, mild diarrhea, vomiting. But everyone improved quickly! Fever was uncommon and mild among participants. They can be treated with acetaminophen.
A pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Denver, Colorado, said it’s important to keep in mind that COVID-19 is now one of the preventable diseases by vaccination with the highest mortality rate. Hospitalization rates of children with COVID were five times higher during the recent wave than the worst previous pandemic points. Katherine Poehling, director of health for the pediatric population at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, said, “I’m amazed at these numbers. I’m also concerned that there’s a real underestimation of the potential severity.” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said, “Any death of a child is tragic and should be avoided if possible.”
It is a guarantee that, if a respiratory germ enters a home, it will enter everyone who lives in it. It may not take over each individual to create what we call disease for a number of reasons, but the microbe turned around, positive or not. This includes having all the kids kiss you or share food with you.
COVID variants currently crawling through our craws are killing fewer Americans daily than during any other period except the summer of 2021. But now the country has 10 times more cases than at the time, indicating that there are there are a smaller number of cases. causing deaths. But COVID is still killing an average of 314 people a day. These little Petri dishes (not “peach”) that parents and grandparents love to hug and kiss can be vectors of so many viruses. Vaccines are a tool to help prevent this spread and infection. It is an incomplete tool, but it is part of a larger effort to stop infections, along with hand washing, and so on.
Maybe you could equate it to a fork between our eating utensils. With this fork we could eat almost everything on the plate, but a knife and a spoon are sure to help us split and lower the delicious ones we can’t puncture. Vaccines are essentially safe and a valuable tool. The death of an avoidable child is too much. Grab your son!
Dr. Bures, a semi-retired dermatologist, has worked since 1978 in Winona, La Crosse, Viroqua and Red Wing. He also plays clarinet in the Winona Municipal Band and a couple of dixieland groups. And enjoy a good pun.
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