The FDA approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 opened up the opportunity for 28 million children across the country to become vaccinated. In clinical trials, the Pfizer vaccine was shown to be 90% effective and the children presented fewer side effects than teens and adults. Last year it seemed children did not seem to become infected with COVID-19, however, OSF HealthCare Occupational Health Dr. Robert Ayers says infections in children are on the rise:
“So it is still there and the incident seems to be getting worse. There has been 200,000 children infected in this past month and it seems to be getting higher each time. If we think about it, last year in the spring of 2020, the thought was children don’t seem to get sick, we don’t have to worry about the kids. Let’s get grandpa and grandma vaccinated because they are the ones that are going to die. In fact in the numbers only 3% of the infections were in children. Now this fall it is 25%. Now you have gone from a disease that didn’t seem to infect the children to now being a big significant carrier. Is that because the older people are vaccinated, maybe that is part of it. That is what has happened; we have protected the older people, they are not symptomatic, they are not going to get tested, so who are we testing; we are testing all the kids who are having all the runny nose, cough, fever.”
OSF HealthCare will be holding a first dose COVID-19 vaccination clinic for children aged 5 to 11 this Saturday, November 20th from 8 a.m. to noon at OSF Holy Family in Monmouth. Appointments can be made by calling 309-734-1414.
