Following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement Tuesday evening that it would recommend pediatric COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11, Owensboro Health expects to receive pediatric doses and begin administering within the next several weeks.
The announcement came following the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization of the pediatric vaccine last week and will expand vaccination eligibility to about 28 million children in the United States, according to the CDC.
The CDC stated in its announcement that during a six-week period in late June to mid-August, COVID-19 hospitalizations among children and adolescents increased fivefold.
OH pediatrician Dr. Rebekah Booth said that during that time frame, there was a similar influx of pediatric cases and patients at Owensboro Health.
“We did have a pretty big uptick at the end of summer and beginning of fall with cases here in-clinic,” she said.
Vaccination, along with other preventative measures, the announcement stated, can protect children from COVID-19 using the safe and effective vaccines already recommended for use in adolescents and adults in the United States.
Similar to what was seen in adult vaccine trials, vaccination was nearly 91% effective in preventing COVID-19 among children ages 5-11 years. In clinical trials, vaccine side effects were mild, self-limiting and similar to those seen in adults and with other vaccines recommended for children, which include pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, chills and fever..
“The general trend and information we have in regards to adults is that statistically, being vaccinated makes you less likely to need to be hospitalized. and if you do need to be hospitalized, you are less likely to end up in more of an intensive care situation,” Booth said.
“We know a lot of the public has worried about Delta variant and being vaccinated and still catching COVID, but all of the data we have from our adult populations indicates that even in children, we should still see that benefit where if they were to contract COVID, it should be a milder illness with less hospitalizations overall and, ideally, less ICU admissions.”
Booth said that the pediatric dose is about one-third of the normal adult dose, which may make many parents more comfortable with getting children vaccinated since there is less likelihood of children developing an intense immune reaction to the vaccine that could result in conditions such as myocarditis.
The FDA also determined that data demonstrate increased risks for myocarditis and pericarditis around seven days after administration of the second dose, specifically for males younger than 40 years, especially those ages 12 to 17. Short-term follow-ups suggest, however, that most individuals have resolved symptoms.
BC Childress, OH director for outpatient pharmacy, said that the prevented hospitalizations and fatalities related to COVID-19 in children are greater than any adverse effects of the vaccine, such as myocarditis.
He said the risk of developing the condition as a result of the vaccine is about one in 10,000 and the risk of developing it from a COVID-19 infection is actually much greater.
Booth said the pediatric COVID-19 vaccines will likely continue being administered at OH Regional Hospital in the outpatient pharmacy department and expects the hospital will likely receive pediatric doses of the COVID-19 vaccine within about two weeks, or at least before the end of November.
According to Childress, OHRH expects to receive about 300 doses initially.
Booth said she is hopeful and expectant that the FDA and CDC will continue looking at further studies being done by Pfizer and Moderna on the safety of administering the vaccines to even younger populations in the near future.
“I’m a mother myself, so I have been waiting very patiently,” she said. “My daughter is 8, so I’ve been waiting for this announcement, knowing that I do want her to be able to attend school and have some of the freedoms I feel like I’ve been able to have since I’ve been vaccinated. We are excited to see, hopefully in early 2022, if the vaccine will get approved for infant age … down to about 6 months old.
“I think this will be something that continues to hopefully progress to where most of our population (can get it), just like with the flu vaccine. I think with time and more research, and when the studies and data come in, it will very likely be extended on down to our youngest patients.”
Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360
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