- American Academy of Pediatrics is initiating a marketing campaign to persuade parents to immunize their children for COVID-19.
- The group claims that they are non-hazardous and efficient, along with other immunizations given to children.
- Experts suggest that getting children vaccine-free protects them as with the adults around them, such as teachers, grandparents, and even other children.
The schools are opening again as it is discovered that the COVID-19 Delta variant causes numbers soaring as they reopen; the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has started an aggressive campaign to combat false information regarding the need to get children of 12 years old or older to be vaccinations.
The AAP’s campaign comprises radio and television Public Service Announcements both in English and Spanish and Spanish as well as social media posts and animated science videos and videos of pediatricians handing out facts about vaccinations.
One of the main reasons behind this AAP initiative is the return of children to school, exactly as the number of COVID-19 cases among children has increased by more than five times between the end of July and the end of August.
Based on AAP officials, there were 38,000 cases in children in the week that ended July 22. This number jumped to 204,000 by the end of August 26 and more than 19,000 children in need of hospitalization.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Pfizer vaccine for teenagers 16 years and older and granted an emergency usage authorization (EUA) to children between 12 and 15 years older.
AAP officials say that vaccines for children aged five years and over could be approved within the next few weeks, and clinical trials are in progress for babies from as young as six months old.
« COVID-19 Delta variant is now increasingly affecting children across the nation which now comprise one in five cases
, » Dr. Lee Benjamin, a pediatric emergency physician at Envision Healthcare in Ann Arbor, Michigan, told Healthline.
« Sick children could transfer the infection to vulnerable adults. While the majority of children suffering from COVID-19 are healthy, acquiring mild illness however, the high number of pediatric cases means that more children are getting sick needing hospitalization or the need for intensive treatment, » he said.
« Although not in the same proportions that we observe in adults children do die from COVID-19, » said Dr. Ilan Shapiro, who is the Medical Director for health education and health and wellness in the AltaMed Health Service and a fellow at the AAP.
The message for parents
Shapiro believes that medical professionals should be honest and open in their discussions with parents regarding vaccinations.
« Talking about these issues can address issues and confusion and direct parents to reliable sources to make the right choice for their family, » Shapiro said to Healthline.
« As a father as well as a pediatrician, my goal is to make sure that children are secure and, more important, are protected from the virus and its consequences, » said Dr. A. declared. « One of the conversations I am having with my patients is explaining my faith that I have placed in the vaccine that will protect me and my family members from COVID-19. »
« Last thing that we want is more children getting sick, » Shapiro said. « As parents, we need to build as many barriers as possible to protect ourselves from the disease. One of those is having a vaccination. »
Dr. Zachary Hoy, a pediatric disease specialist at Nashville Pediatric Infectious Disease in Tennessee Dr. Zachary Hoy says that now is the right time to get children to be vaccinated.
« Kids are back to classes, and they’re gathering with more people, » Hoy said to Healthline.
« Children are often more efficient in spreading viruses, and vaccination can help stop the common cause of virus shedding. » said the doctor. « Many children are supervised by an older family member when parents work. If the children are vaccinated and are protected, it can also help the caregivers and other family members by reducing the spread. »
Hoy suggests getting COVID-19 shots in the same way that children get their other routine vaccinations.
Dr. Pierrette Mimi Poinsett is a board-certified pediatrician and consultant on the parenting website Mom Loves Best. She explained to Healthline that there are a few essential things parents should be aware of when it comes to vaccinations for their children:
« Vaccination is safe and effective, » she said. « The COVID vaccine can be administered in conjunction with other vaccines. The side effects of those who receive the COVID vaccine are usually minor, including discomfort at the injection site, fatigue, low-grade fever, headaches, chills, and chills. These signs indicate that the body is developing protection.
« Breakthrough infection, although rare, can occur even if fully vaccinated, as no vaccine is 100 percent effective, » she said. « The majority of the breakthrough infection is due to mild diseases. In the event of hospitalization, and the need for intensive treatment is lower than when one is not vaccinated. »
Shapiro added that doctors are seeing more children with long-haul COVID that lasts for months.
He’s optimistic that vaccines for infants less than 12 years old will be available from December to January.
« Unfortunately, this virus knows no boundaries, » Shapiro declared. « Everyone is at risk. Children are particularly susceptible. Carry the virus to family members who have not been vaccine-free. The vaccination of children helps protect them as well as their family members.
« The virus continues to change and could lead to a point at which the current vaccines aren’t enough to provide protection. » said the doctor. « The greater number of people who have been vaccinated , the less likely they are to get there. »