CHILDREN 6 MONTHS AND OLDER NOW ELIGIBLE FOR COVID-19 VACCINE
Children who are six months and older can now get the COVID-19 vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the
vaccines for the children in that age group on Saturday, June 18th.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 can cause severe illness in children. And, children with underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness, although children without underlying medical conditions can also experience severe illness. Those underlying medical conditions can include obesity, diabetes, chronic lung disease, sickle cell disease or immunosuppression.
The recommendation comes less than a year after the CDC recommended children 5-11 and 12-17 get the COVID-19 vaccine. Since the recommendation was announced last month, parents have been trying to get their children six month and older vaccinated.
David Trotter, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Advocate Aurora Health. Trotter said the vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer have been proven safe and effective in preventing any serious outcomes
from a COVID-19 infection. And, it is a good and safe vaccine to give to children.
Trotter recommended that parents contact their pediatrician or family medicine physician to see if they can get an appointment for their child to get the vaccine. He said it will be a more familiar environment for the child, as well as the rest of the family. If parents are unable to get an appointment with their pediatrician or family medicine physician, they can go to a clinic that the Chicago Department of Public Health is partnering with. Those clinics are all around the city and also can provide the
rest of the family with COVID-19 booster shots if they are needed.
“I think it’s very important for everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This is the last group of individuals that now have the ability to receive that vaccine. There were about 17 million children who could not get the vaccine and that always create more chance and risk for the children. They should be afforded the same protections as everyone else in the country,” Trotter said.
Trotter believes with the new age group getting the vaccine, schools will be able to keep schools open longer, and lessen the chance of outbreaks, in school systems. And, it will be a more protected environment for everyone involved.
As an emergency physician, Trotter did see children come in with COVID-19. He would see a child come in with a fever, the doctors would test the child and they had COVID-19. Then, later on, the whole household
would have COVID-19. Unfortunately, children at that time, would not be eligible to get the vaccine. Now, the children will be protected, as well as everyone else in the household.
“I encourage everyone to get vaccinated, six months old to adults. It’s just about that time to get equal protection across the board and get back to living life the way we used to, safely together,” Trotter said.
Trotter recommended if parents are unable to get appointment with their healthcare provider to visit the Chicago Department of Public Health website, www. chicago.gov/under5vax.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine for children, visit City of Chicago at tinyurl.com/22d5xefb or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at tinyurl.com/4f6xrykp.
