Why Kids Should Still Get the COVID-19 Vaccine

With the official COVID-19 public health emergency now behind us and cases of the virus continuing to trend downward, parents may be wondering exactly what if any measures are needed to keep their children safe. Let’s take a look at the current guidelines on navigating a virus that can still cause serious illness and complications in children and those around them.

The Latest COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations for Kids

Thanks to highly effective vaccines, your family has likely returned to life pretty much as you knew it before the pandemic. But it's not time to let our guard down. The best defense against COVID-19 continues to be vaccination and following the basic health and hygiene practices we talked about constantly throughout the pandemic:

• Wash your hands
• Stay home when sick
• Avoid contact with people who may have COVID-19

The CDC offers these vaccine guidelines to help assure your children are protected from COVID-19:

• Everyone aged 6 years and older should get one updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether they received any original COVID-19 vaccines.
• Children aged 6 months–5 years may need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date, including at least one dose of updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, depending on the number of doses they’ve previously received and their age.

Why Vaccinating Younger People Is Important

During the pandemic, hundreds of children were hospitalized due to COVID-19, many under the age of 5. Most were unvaccinated. If you have concerns about getting your child vaccinated, here are some things to consider:

The vaccine works

First and foremost, the vaccines have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. They have also basically eliminated the risk of your child becoming seriously ill enough to require hospitalization or dying from the coronavirus.

Risk is unpredictable

Doctors can’t always predict how sick your child might become if they contract COVID-19. We do know obesity, a common teen condition affecting more than 20% of teens and young adults, is a risk factor for more severe infection and complications.

MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children), a rare but very serious condition spurred on by COVID-19, causes the immune system to attack healthy cells in the body’s organs. It often involves a high fever, belly pain, and a rash or inflammation of the body’s mucosal skin (skin inside the mouth, nose and the surface of the eyes.) If your child has a high fever and these symptoms, or a fever with additional lethargy (hard to arouse, very sleepy, and unable to become fully awake or alert), seek medical attention right away.

Beyond the physical risk

Like people of all ages, children have faced mental health challenges as their worlds changed dramatically during the pandemic. Vaccinating younger people increases community immunity and reduces COVID-19 cases, allowing children and teens to once again enjoy activities like sports, jobs, and socializing with friends and family that are so important to their well-being.

Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe?

While it may seem like the COVID-19 vaccines appeared quickly, the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology behind the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines has been years in the making, originating at Penn Medicine 15 years ago.

The CDC affirms that all COVID-19 vaccines are both safe and effective, having been evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met the FDA’s rigorous scientific standards. Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines, which continue to undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history.

Side Effects of the Vaccine

Common side effects of COVID-19 vaccines are the same as those typical of other teen vaccines: possible soreness or redness in the arm where the vaccine was injected, fever, headache, fatigue or body aches.

The symptoms only last one-to-two days after the getting the shot. And two weeks after the second dose of the two-part vaccine, you and your child can feel confident they are protected and able to safely resume more of the interactions and activities they enjoyed before the pandemic.

Scheduling Your Child's Vaccine 

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health offers COVID-19 vaccines at our family medicine and pediatric practices. We strongly encourage you to make sure your child is up to date on their immunization. Vaccine availability varies depending on location.

Here’s how to schedule your child’s COVID-19 vaccine with a Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health provider.  

While it feels good to once again enjoy life as it was before 2019, it's important to remember the important lessons learned. Talk to your doctor about your child's COVID-19 and other immunizations to help keep them safe and healthy.