COVID-19 and flu vaccines may help combat rising cases in children's illnesses

If you’re like me, you’ve been relieved to go back to some sense of normalcy, especially as we approach the holiday season. We can all thank vaccines, which are a vital key to control COVID-19.

However, with that feeling of normalcy comes declining vaccination rates as fewer families are choosing to have kids vaccinated, even though more targeted options are available.

On Oct. 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded authorization for the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 and up. The updated bivalent vaccines, with broader protection against the Omicron variants, are manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, both of which are equally effective and safe. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for ages 5 through 11 (12 and up were already included) and the Moderna for ages 6 to 17. This means anyone age 5 and older is now eligible for boosting with the bivalent vaccine. Both manufacturers are completing research on efficacy and safety of the bivalent vaccine for children under 5. 

Respiratory illnesses are already circulating ahead of the normal late-fall and early-winter onset. The number of children hospitalized with serious COVID-19 illness is steady and expected to rise. In addition to COVID-19, Mercy and other children’s hospitals are seeing kids admitted with significant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Flu season, based on indications from other parts of the world, is expected to be severe. 

Because so many of these illnesses have similar symptoms, it’s important we do what we can to prevent severe cases with vaccines.

Parents regularly ask if the COVID-19 vaccine is safe. To which I confidently say, “Yes!” It has been shown to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 illness, which is a very good success rate for any vaccine. Side effects are minimal and like those of adults: mild pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue and mild general malaise. These mild side effects may begin one to two days after the vaccine is given and persist up to three days, which is a small price to pay when preventing potentially long-term issues.

As noted previously, the Southern Hemisphere – particularly Australia – has experienced an extensive and severe flu season. It has already reached some areas in the U.S., and, like every year, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that all children older than 6 months receive a flu vaccine before the end of October.

We have an opportunity and obligation to protect our vulnerable children and adults from preventable diseases, so I urge all of you to vaccinate your children against COVID-19 and influenza.

For more information or to find a pediatrician near you, visit mercy.net/LadueNews.