by Mikisha Plesco, Director of Operations, GRAAHI
A parent’s greatest responsibility is to care, nurture, teach, and keep a child safe until they reach an age that they can care for themselves. Being a parent in the middle of a pandemic is one that stretches a parent’s role. Parents may question the following: how do I keep my child safe, am I making the right decision to join an activity, or what information do I trust related to COVID-19 vaccinations? We as parents do not want to make a mistake in our child’s health.
The best information to reference is on Center for Disease and Prevention which indicates the following:
- Children 12 years and up can receive the COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Children can contract COVID-19, can get sick with COVID-19, can be hospitalized with COVID-19, and spread COVID-19 to others.
- As a parent, you may be concerned with the COVID-19 vaccination and the CDC addresses this by the following:
- COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
- COVID-19 vaccines have been studied in adolescents.
- COVID-19 vaccine like adults is administrated in two doses for adolescents 3 weeks apart from each other.
- There is no weight requirement for the COVID-19 vaccination, for adolescent the dosage is the same as adults.
- COVID-19 vaccinations are safe to give with other vaccinations. There is no need to wait in between vaccinations.Most importantly, your child can not get COVID-19 from the COVID-19 vaccinations.
What are the side effects from COVID-19? CDC explains the side effects are the following:
- From the shot as with any other shot, your child may have pain, redness, or swelling.
- From the COVID-19 vaccination, your child may have tiredness, headache muscle pain, chills, fever, or nausea. These are all normal and are signs that your child’s body is activating the protection it needs to fight against COVID-19 virus.
- The side effects may last for a few days, or your child may not have any side effect.
The best advice for parents is to look at trusted sources such as the CDC, WHO, local hospitals, healthcare centers, and health department like the Kent County Health Department, University of Michigan West, Cherry Street Health, Spectrum, Mercy and/or talk to their provider about COVID-19 vaccinations. After reviewing these resources, then make a decision that is best for your child’s health and well-being.
As for parents who have children 4 years old and under and no approval in sight, let us continue to keep our children safe following the guidelines of COVID-19 prevention to help keep our little ones safe.
To read more, head to the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/groups/families-children.html
NOTE: Information about COVID, vaccines and exposure risks are always changing as we learn more. Please refer to your local health departments, your personal physicians and the CDC for the most recent information.
