What do parents need to know about COVID-19 vaccines for younger kids?

vaccine
Posted at 3:51 PM, Jun 20, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-20 17:27:16-04

(WXYZ) — COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 have been authorized by the FDA and approved by the CDC. But many parents remain on the fence.

How safe are these vaccines and is one better than the other?

A survey back in April found that only one in five parents would immediately get their young children vaccinated. How confident am I in Pfizer’s and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines for our littlest ones?

I’m very confident. So confident that I am having my two-year-old vaccinated as soon as possible. And that’s because I believe that the FDA, the CDC, and their external advisors – which by the way, are made up of scientific experts like chemists and biologists - I believe they do a very careful and thorough job of scrutinizing the information.

They conducted independent analyses of clinical data submitted by Pfizer and Moderna. And the vaccines are expected to help protect our youngest children from severe outcomes of COVID-19, just as they’ve been doing for people age 5 and up.

Both are safe, effective, and produce strong antibody levels. But still, there are differences.

If you would like your child protected as soon as possible, Moderna’s vaccine only has two doses, four weeks apart. However, their vaccine was found to be 51% effective in preventing symptomatic infection for babies and toddlers six months to two years. And 37% effective for kids age two through five.

Now Pfizer’s vaccine has shown higher efficacy. Three doses provided 80% protection against symptomatic infection. But that number may change as more data is collected. And one key point that needs to be considered, is that it takes longer to get that higher protection. The first two doses of Pfizer’s vaccines are three weeks apart. But the third dose is given two months after the second shot.

Thus, it’s not an easy decision. So how does a parent choose between these two vaccines? Here’s my advice, talk these differences over with your child’s pediatrician or family doctor.

As for when these young kids can get the shots, we may need to be patient a bit longer. Last week Michigan preordered 38,100 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 27,500 doses of Moderna’s. These will be delivered to local health departments, doctor's offices, and pharmacies. But it takes time for the vaccines to be shipped and distributed. However, if you have a child that’s 3 and older, Walgreens is scheduling appointments for this age group.

Additional Coronavirus information and resources:

View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.

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