Covid Vaccine For Kids – The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has recently given its nod to the updated booster shot of Pfizer and Moderna for everyone above the age of 6 months.
Previously, everyone above the age of 5 years was eligible to receive the updated bivalent booster shot of covid vaccine. Now, the FDA has lowered the age limit to 6 months which is good news for a huge number of parents around the nation.
Even if you take a look at the discussions on different social media platforms, most parents were demanding updated booster shots for their kids below the age of five. Now, the FDA has come up with the approval, and parents are allowed to get their kids vaccinated with the updated booster shot as early as possible.
Let’s discuss everything regarding COVID vaccine for kids. It will help you prepare yourself for any upcoming developments and how you can take the full benefits of the latest update.
Approval of updated COVID Vaccine for kids
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States gave its nod to 2 of the most important COVID vaccine manufacturers in the country to vaccinate kids between the ages of 86 months to 5 years with their updated booster shots.
The latest bivalent or updated booster shots are known to provide greater protection against different sub-variants of omicron and COVID-19. Parents have been demanding the updated booster shot for their kids since the start of the season.
The timing of this approval cannot be better as the winter season has already arrived in the country, and we usually record the highest cases of COVID-19 during the winter season.
As per the latest announcement, kids who are still getting the primary series of the COVID vaccine are going to receive the 3rd shot of the Pfizer primary series as a booster shot.
For example, your kid has already received the first dose or second dose of the Pfizer primary series of COVID vaccine. As per the latest announcement, you are going to receive the 3rd shot of the primary series as a booster shot.
Kids between the age of 6 months to 5 years who have already received the primary series are eligible for another shot. This time it is going to be the updated booster short.
This thing is only limited to the Pfizer COVID vaccine as it is the only COVID vaccine in the United States that has three primary shot series for kids between the age of 6 months to 5 years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already made it to the public that a new updated COVID booster shot is available for kids above the age of 6 months, and parents can get their kids vaccinated with the same.
Similar to other shots, This vaccine will also be available at different pharmacies, hospitals, and independent clinics. Parents can consult with the healthcare provider of their kids.
What are the Side Effects of the COVID Vaccine for kids?
Before we move ahead and talk about anything else, let’s take a quick look at the side effects of the COVID vaccine for kids.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledge the probability of some side effects when it comes to COVID vaccine for kids. COVID vaccine for kids is not the first vaccine in the world that is known to have side effects.
Several other essential vaccines also have similar side effects, and you should not keep your kids from getting vaccinated due to these common side effects.
The side effects of COVID vaccine for kids are no different than the general side effects of COVID vaccine for adults. Your kid between the age of 6 months to 2 years might behave a little bit differently, while others are going to experience similar symptoms.
- Pain on the leg or arm where the shot was given.
- swollen lymph nodes
- irritability
- Crying
- Sleepiness
- Loss of appetite
- Fever
These are the most common side effects of COVID vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that most kids will recover from these side effects without even any medicine or medication. You just have to focus on following the general home remedies.
Home Remedies for Side Effects of COVID Vaccine for Kids
Healthcare experts around the world believe that there are some things you can do at home to lower the intensity of the side effects of any vaccine, not just the COVID vaccine.
When it comes to the vaccine for kids, it becomes your responsibility to help your kid recover from the side effects using home remedies and professional assistance.
- First of all, you should make sure your kid is resting as much as possible. Rest after the COVID vaccine can even prevent the development of any symptoms.
- Kindly give your kid plenty of fluids to stay hydrated and recover from any fever-like symptoms.
- Kindly do not allow your kid to play outside as it can become a little bit hard, and your kid can develop some symptoms.
- At the same time, you should also focus on a good diet. You should try to feed only homemade food items.
- You can also consult about over-the-counter medicine to lower the intensity of symptoms with your healthcare provider.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that most kids won’t even require any medicine or medical assistance to recover from the side effects of the COVID vaccine. Still, parents are suggested to consult about the probability of severe symptoms with their healthcare provider.
Are there any Serious Side Effects of the COVID Vaccine for Kids?
Similar to the list of common side effects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States believe that there are some serious side effects of COVID vaccine when it comes to kids.
First of all, there is a high probability of Allergic reaction after receiving COVID vaccine for kids. If your kid is allergic to anything in the world, then the CDC recommends you consult you’re about the probability of allergic reaction with your healthcare provider.
Apart from that, kids who are allergic to any ingredients used in the vaccine are suggested not to get vaccinated under any circumstances. Risk factors associated with allergic reactions are way higher than the protection from COVID vaccine.
There are several other measures you can take to prevent the infection rather than using the COVID website. If your kid has already received the COVID vaccine, then your healthcare providers suggest you call your healthcare provider right away.
Lastly, there is also a small probability of Guillain-Barre syndrome. It is a severe blood clotting disease that is known to cause several other problems as well.
Johnson and Johnson Covid vaccine was the most notorious vaccine when it came to brilliant Barry syndrome. That is why the Centers for Disease Control and prevention only recommend the use of Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccine manufacturers for kids.
Kindly do not ignore any severe symptoms. The CDC might be suggesting that everyone will get better without even any medicine or medical assistance. It doesn’t mean that you or your kid will recover from the severe side effects without any medical assistance.
If you are experiencing any symptoms associated with the above-given conditions, you should call your provider right away.
Where to get the COVID Vaccine for kids?
Before we completely wrap up our session, let’s take a quick look at all the places where you can get yourself, and your kid vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already made it clear that updated COVID vaccines are available for kids at most pharmacies throughout the whole nation.
If you have decided to get your kid vaccinated with an updated bivalent booster shot of the Covid vaccine, then you can use the centralized database of COVID vaccination sites.
The CDC came up with the unique idea to launch an online database of COVID vaccine sites throughout the nation. You can simply access that database by clicking on the below-given button.
- As soon as you click on the above-given button to reach the centralized database of COVID vaccination sites, it will ask you to enter your five-digit area zip code.
- The five-digit area zip code will help the tool find all the nearby COVID vaccination sites.
- At the same time, you can also filter out the results depending on the COVID vaccine you require.
You can find the nearby COVID vaccination site and create appointments using their official website. If you can find the right aid, Walgreens, or CVS pharmacy vaccination site, then I would highly recommend you to use those.
Is the COVID vaccine for kids necessary?
Covid vaccine for kids is not necessary, but it can provide greater protection against different variants of the virus. At the same time, most governments around the world are also requesting passengers to carry vaccination certificates to enter their country.