COVID vaccine for kids is finally available

The speculations end as the US approval of Covid vaccines for kids has been confirmed. While the US Centers for Disease Control has fully authorized the vaccination for kids, they also have recommendations to parents. Here is what the US CDC advises as to what not to do before taking the covid vaccine for kids.

According to the CDC’s website, “It’s not recommended you give pain relievers before vaccination to try to prevent side effects.”

Moreover, there’s a possibility that pain relievers like Ibuprofen might not just lower the side effects. But it can also reduce the body’s antibody response to the vaccine.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. David Cennimo said in an interview, “There are data in the vaccine literature, long predating COVID-19 and almost all done in children, that premedication with fever-reducing drugs like acetaminophen or Ibuprofen decrease the antibody response to the first dose of the vaccine.”

We have reached a turning point in our battle against COVID-19: authorization of a safe, effective vaccine for children age 5-11. It will allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids — and is a major step forward in our fight to defeat the virus.

— President Biden (@POTUS) November 3, 2021

As per CDC’s recommendation, parents should wait for the doctor’s go signal before administering a non-aspirin pain reliever at home after getting the Covid vaccine for kids. In addition, children under 18 can’t take aspirin.

While doctors can’t assess which children have higher chances of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, vaccines can reduce their chances of getting dire complications. Experts discovered that the vaccine’s effectiveness in children (5-11 years old) is at 90.7%.

The CDC gives reminders on what you should do when getting the Covid vaccine for kids:

• Inform the nurse or attending doctor of your child’s existing allergies.
• Let your child sit or lie down during vaccination. Let them stay at rest for 15 minutes after vaccination. This will prevent them from fainting or getting injured if they faint.
• For 15 minutes after your child gets the vaccine, they should stick around. This is to check for any adverse allergic reaction.
• You can apply a cold compress on the injection site for discomfort. A cool and damp cloth would help.

Possible side effects

• Be mindful of the possible side effects. While some of the effects are redness, pain, and swelling of the injected part, they might also feel tiredness, headache.

Ten year-old Spraya Yamini holds her father Afshin’s hand as she receives the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease at Rady’s Children’s hospital vaccination clinic in San Diego, California, U.S., November 3, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake

• Some may even develop fever and chills. The same side effects that adults experience. The CDC says this will clear up after a few days.

The CDC panel approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccines for kids just last week. Now, many hospitals, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies already have them.

Parents need not worry as the clinical trials showed positive results. Among the vaccinated 3,109 children (5-11 years old), there aren’t any serious side effects. This is according to the FDA that granted the emergency use authorization of the Covid vaccine for kids.