It’s been two years since most Chicagoans first heard about COVID-19, the virus that was about to upend all kinds of life.
Some who worried what was coming next included people who may not have been parents when reports of the coronavirus surfaced. Now many of them have babies and toddlers, and are still filled with extra worry since their children have been too young to be given vaccines that can stave off serious disease.
After initial Pfizer trials indicated a three-dose regimen might be needed, parents’ hopes for a vaccine stalled.
That could change soon. After federal regulators encouraged Pfizer to request emergency authorization for its vaccine for young children, the drug company asked the U.S. to authorize a two-dose regimen for children ages 6 months to 5 years old. This new move could clear the way for shots to start as early as March.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady called the news “very exciting,” saying that if such vaccines get approved, “we could be seeing that maybe in a month or so.”
Just like with older kids, some parents may feel hesitant about the vaccines, experts said.
Vaccines for older children were approved in November. And according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of CDC data, through Jan. 18, 28% of children ages 5 to 11 had received at least one COVID-19 dose. In Illinois, 38% of children ages 5 to 11 had received at least one shot.
Dr. Jennifer Kusma, an instructor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Lurie Children’s Hospital pediatrician, said it’s understandable to have questions.
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“It is totally normal to stop and ask a question before you do anything for your child. That is our parent instinct,” Kusma said. “I think it’s also totally normal to even have more questions for a shot for your child than you would for yourself,” she said.
Pediatricians and health experts remind parents that although children do better than adults if they get COVID-19, they can still get very sick. For example, MIS-C, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome, is a rare but serious complication following a COVID-19 infection. And hospitalizations of children testing positive for COVID-19 increased as the more contagious omicron variant spread in Chicago.
After nearly two years of making constant calculations for their children’s safety, many parents may have additional questions about the vaccine. Here’s what we know:
When will it arrive?
If the shots are approved in March, they could arrive in Chicago soon after. Allison Bartlett, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine, said that when previous vaccines for older children were approved, they arrived in Chicago the same week.
What’s the deal with two shots and maybe three?
Initially, Pfizer studied giving two doses of their vaccine to children ages 6 months to 5 years.
On Dec. 17, the company announced it would also evaluate a third dose, after children ages 6 months to 2 years showed an effectiveness similar to that among 16- to 25-year-olds, but among children ages 2 to 5 it did not.
Kusma and Bartlett suspect that while studying the third dose, the company may have enough promising data for beginning children on the two-shot approval, expecting a third shot will be needed.
What do we know about what protection might be expected from two shots, especially for children ages 2 to 5?
Even without a third shot, the vaccine should still offer some protection, Kusma said, although we will know more with more data.
The earlier a child gets the first and second shot, the earlier they could get a potential third. And with Bartlett emphasizing there have been no safety concerns, “there’s not a huge downside to going ahead and doing the first doses now.”
Is it the same as the adult shot?
The vaccine for these youngest kids will be one-tenth the strength of the adult shot.
How can parents get a vaccine? Will they have to go through a pediatrician, and what if they don’t have one?
Information isn’t yet available on exactly how the youngest children will get their shots, but pediatrician offices may offer them. For children ages 5 to 11, they have been able to get them at health centers and places like at Lurie Children’s Hospital. The city also runs family vaccination clinics.
How far apart would the shots be?
There are no official recommendations yet, but Pfizer said in its clinical data information that they would study a third dose given at least two months after the second dose.
How long after having COVID-19 should kids wait to get the vaccine?
Bartlett said there is no medical reason to wait, but that they’d recommend a child first finish their time in isolation.
Have children experienced similar side effects to adults?
In general, Kusma suggests parents might expect children to feel things like arm soreness, low-grade fevers and body aches. They have noticed fewer reports of side effects among children, she said.
How do we know a vaccine is safe long term if it was just developed?
Pfizer noted their clinical trial found no safety concerns.
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Kusma, who reads all the safety data before offering guidance to parents, said she was very reassured that, for example, officials did not bring out the vaccine for children right away. “That gave me good reassurance that they’re doing all the necessary steps,” she said.
She reminds her patients that her job as a pediatrician is to keep kids healthy and safe, and they would never recommend anything they didn’t consider safe. “I always encourage parents to come to me with their questions or go to their pediatrician and really get the information about that from someone who has that background to understand the safety profile of the vaccine.”
In general, she said, “It would be very unusual based on the science of how immunizations work for there to be any long-term safety effects. That’s not typically how our body responds to a vaccine. Typically any side effects we see in the immediate period in those first couple of days.”
Will we need more COVID-19 vaccines in future?
It’s possible, Bartlett said, for example if a variant emerges that is not well covered by current vaccines.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.