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Alabama children as young as 6 months old are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines from both Pfizer and Moderna.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday recommended 20 million young children nationwide to receive the vaccine, marking the first time in the pandemic when essentially all ages are eligible for vaccination.
“This is such a period of celebration for us now that we can do something for 6 months of age and over,” said Dr. David Kimberlin, co-director of UAB and Children’s of Alabama’s Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. “We’re close to the goal line, but to get the ball over the goal line now is more than ever a team effort…It’s going to appropriately require parents to step in and say that we want [the vaccine] and that’s what I’m asking parents to do.”
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Although the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for children over the age of 5 in October, Alabama continues to have the lowest pediatric vaccination rate in the country, with only 14% of 5-11 year olds receiving the shot. Nationwide, the average for the same age group is 30%.
ADPH said 55 healthcare providers pre-ordered 18,300 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, which will be directly shipped by the federal government. Vaccine orders will be able to be placed for other healthcare providers, including public health departments, beginning Wednesday.
Families should contact their pediatricians and care providers to determine if they have the vaccine available.
COVID risk
While COVID likely poses more of a risk to the elderly and older adults, it is still in the top five leading causes of death for children under the age of 10, according to the CDC.
There have been over two million cases of the virus among children under the age of 5 nationwide since the onset of the pandemic and nine deaths between February and May of this year due to the omicron variant, the most infectious strain of the disease so far.
Children who are infected with the virus are also at risk for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome of Childhood (MIS-C), which is characterized by fever and inflammation of different body parts, as well as long COVID, which can impact the heart, breathing and energy levels.
“Why run that risk? Why not do something to prevent that in the first place now we’re fortunate to have the safe and effective vaccines for 6 months of age and over to accomplish exactly that goal,” Kimberlin said.
The Alabama Department of Public Health also recommends vaccination to protect against MIS-C, which has already affected at least 149 children in the state.
Safety
According to the CDC, scientists and medical experts reviewed safety and effectiveness data from clinical trials involving thousands of children.
Like with other age groups, the side effects for the vaccine can include fever, body aches and swelling of the lymph nodes. The vaccine is considered highly safe and effective for children and adults.
One rare complication is myocarditis, inflammation of the heart, which has been seen more commonly in younger men. However, reports of these complications are rare, according to ADPH, and the risk of developing myocarditis after a COVID-19 infection is much higher than the risk of developing myocarditis after the vaccine.
A two-dose Moderna vaccine series is recommended for children ages 6 months through 5 years and a three-dose Pfizer vaccine series is recommended for children ages 6 months through 4 years.
Moderna is still not recommended for children aged 6-17, but the CDC is expected to meet on that recommendation later this week.
The timing between shots ranges from 21 to 28 days depending on the manufacturer or could be up to 8 weeks in some cases, according to Kimberlin.
“If you think about that, eight weeks from now is about the time people go back to school,” said Kimberlin. “Why not get everything underway, especially when it’s sometimes a little challenging to take off work and get your child to the pediatrician’s office. Don’t put it off. There’s simply just no reason to put it off.”
Savannah Tryens-Fernandes is a member of The Alabama Education Lab team at AL.com. She is supported through a partnership with Report for America. Learn more here and contribute to support the team here.