We are excited to provide Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to 5- 11 year old patients AND non-patients!
Request an appointment here: https://www.champspediatrics.com/contact
- As per CDC, we recommend all age-eligible patients get a COVID-19 vaccine. Widespread vaccination is a critical tool to help stop the pandemic. Please see the links below for more information.
- You do not need to be our patient to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine with us. We are happy to welcome patients and non-patients as we strive to assist our community with this effort. Prior appointment request is required. No walk-ins are allowed.
- There is no charge for the COVID-19 vaccine. Insurance is NOT required. If you are insured, an administration fee may be collected from the insurance company, but you will never receive a bill.
- Our phone line is dedicated to pediatric patient care. COVID-19 vaccine inquiries may be sent to our secure messaging system Klara (the small blue texting box in the right corner)
If my child already had COVID-19, do I still need to get vaccinated?
Currently, the CDC recommends that even those who have had COVID-19 get the COVID-19 vaccine. Although some data were suggestive that previously infected individuals may not need the vaccine, that changed with the spread of the delta variant. If someone with previous infection gets the vaccine, it will not harm them and will likely boost their immunity.
Are there any contraindications for children receiving the COVID19 vaccine?
- Anyone with a previous severe or immediate allergic reaction (i.e., one that causes anaphylaxis or requires medical intervention) to a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine dose or an mRNA vaccine component.
- A component of a COVID19 vaccine including: Polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is found in some medications, laxatives or Polysorbate, which is found in some vaccines, film-coated tablets and IV steroids.
- If someone currently has symptoms of COVID-19 or is isolating per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocols, they should wait until they recover.
- If a person recently had COVID-19 and was treated with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, they should wait 90 days before getting vaccinated.
- In most cases if someone is exposed to COVID-19, they should wait until the quarantine period is over. Exceptions to this are people living in group settings (e.g., nursing homes, correctional facilities, or homeless shelters).
If I get the COVID-19 vaccine, do I still need to get the flu shot?
Yes. While COVID-19 and the flu are both caused by respiratory viruses, the viruses are different. So, separate vaccines are needed to protect you from both viruses.
What is the risk of myocarditis from the COVID19 vaccine?
While myocarditis is rare, it is also real; so, we can understand why some parents may be hesitant to get their children vaccinated. But it is important when making these decisions to realize that the choice not to vaccinate is also a choice to risk COVID-19.
The study regarding 5-11 year old children for the Pfizer COVID19 vaccine had no cases of myocarditis.
As an example: If we have a population of 100,000 healthy males ages 16-29:
- If all of them were vaccinated, 5 of them would be expected to experience myocarditis following vaccination. (MMWR, Aug. 13, 2021 and NEJM, Oct. 6, 2021)
- If none of them were vaccinated, 960 would be expected to get COVID-19, 30 of those infected would be hospitalized, 6 of those hospitalized would end up in the ICU, and 59 would be expected to experience myocarditis caused by COVID-19. (MMWR, Aug. 13, 2021 and MMWR, Sept. 3, 2021)
The rates of myocarditis following vaccination of females are significantly lower.
Three other considerations are important when deciding about COVID-19 vaccination of teens (or teen athletes):
- Data are emerging that vaccination following infection improves immunologic memory, so a previously infected, unvaccinated individual may be more likely to experience re-infection than a previously infected, vaccinated individual. And there is no evidence that myocarditis occurs more commonly following vaccination of those previously infected.
- We are still learning about “long COVID,” the condition which causes people to experience symptoms well after their infection goes away. While we don’t yet know how often this occurs in younger people, it is clear that some young people suffer similar long-term consequences.
- Finally, while not a biological consideration, if the concern is that student-athletes are able to participate, particularly in their Junior and Senior seasons, it is worth considering that student-athletes who remain unvaccinated may lose opportunities to participate if mandates for school attendance are put into place.
Source: https://www.chop.edu/centers-p...
Last updated: 10/11/21
If there is a case in an elementary class, do the fully vaccinated children quarantine?
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that it is not necessary for vaccinated people (fully vaccinated are 2 weeks after the 2nd dose of Pfizer) to quarantine after being exposed to someone with COVID-19 unless they have symptoms.
- It is recommended they get tested 507 days after exposure. Isolation, rather than quarantine, is recommended if a person tests positive for COVID-19—even if they have been vaccinated and even if they do not feel sick.
- Please check with your school's policy
How dangerous is COVID19 for this age group?
Up to October 2021, there have been 1.9 million cases of COVID19 in children ages 5-11. There have been 94 COVID deaths in children aged 5-11 years old. These consist of 1.7% of all deaths in this age group, placing COVID19 at the 8th leading cause of death, higher than bacterial sepsis. About have of these children had underlying medical conditions with the most common asthma and obesity. There have been 563 hospitalizations , 32%of which required pediatric ICU admission. The risk has now been shown to be the same for this age group as seasonal influenza.
This age group is in a higher risk for MISC or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children. MIS-C is triggered by the virus that causes COVID-19. It can occur in children who have not had any common symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, sore throat or cough. It is a severe hyperinflammatory syndrome that can occur 2-4 weeks after acute SARSCoV2 infection, leading to inflammation in multiple organs. 60-70 % of cases are admitted to the ICU. 1-2% die. As of October 2021, there have been about 5,217 cases of MISC. 39% of these cases were in 6-11 year old children.
“Most children with MIS-C will have antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, indicating their body has been infected previously,” she notes. “The number of MIS-C cases also rises about four weeks after waves of COVID-19 cases in that community. Doctors and researchers are still learning why some children develop this illness after COVID-19 infection but not others.”
Source: https://jamanetwork.com/journa...
The effectiveness data to support the EUA in children down to 5 years of age is based on an ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled study that has enrolled approximately 4,700 children 5 through 11 years of age. The study is being conducted in the U.S., Finland, Poland and Spain. Children in the vaccine group received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine containing 10 micrograms of messenger RNA per dose. The FDA analyzed data that compared the immune response of 264 participants from this study to 253 participants 16 through 25 years of age who had two higher doses of the vaccine in a previous study which determined the vaccine to be effective in preventing COVID-19. The immune responses of the younger age participants were comparable to the older participants.
The FDA also conducted a preliminary analysis of cases of COVID-19 occurring seven days after the second dose. In this analysis, among participants without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, 3 cases of COVID-19 occurred among 1,305 vaccine recipients and 16 cases of COVID-19 occurred among 663 placebo recipients; the vaccine was 90.7% effective in preventing COVID-19.
FDA Evaluation of Available Safety Data
The available safety data to support the EUA include more than 4,600 participants (3,100 vaccine, 1,538 placebo) ages 5 through 11 years enrolled in the ongoing study. In this trial, a total of 1,444 vaccine recipients were followed for safety for at least 2 months after the second dose.
Commonly reported side effects in the clinical trial included injection site pain (sore arm), redness and swelling, fatigue, headache, muscle and/or joint pain, chills, fever, swollen lymph nodes, nausea and decreased appetite. More children reported side effects after the second dose than after the first dose. Side effects were generally mild to moderate in severity and occurred within two days after vaccination, and most went away within one to two days.
The FDA and CDC safety surveillance systems have previously identified increased risks of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of tissue surrounding the heart) following vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, particularly following the second dose, and with the observed risk highest in males 12 through 17 years of age. Therefore, the FDA conducted its own benefit-risk assessment using modelling to predict how many symptomatic COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and deaths from COVID-19 the vaccine in children 5 through 11 years of age would prevent versus the number of potential myocarditis cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths that the vaccine might cause. The FDA’s model predicts that overall, the benefits of the vaccine would outweigh its risks in children 5 through 11 years of age.
source: https://www.fda.gov/news-event...