Children between the ages of 5 and 11 are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed a recommendation Tuesday to vaccinate this age group with a lower dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Dr. Robyn Schertz, the System Senior Physician Executive with Aspirus Medical Group North, says it’s safe for kids to get.
“They’ve been using it in studies and have had no adverse reactions within 5,000 plus children who have received the vaccine,” she says. “We also have data to prove it’s been safe in other age ranges as well.”
Schertz recommends kids get the shot for two reasons.
For one, kids can get really sick from COVID, and the vaccine can protect them.
“It’s important to vaccinate kids because, although their risk is lower than that of adults, kids are still getting sick and are still dying from COVID-19,” she explains. “So it’s important to have that option to keep your children safe.”
A recent CDC study found that unvaccinated children were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID than vaccinated kids.
Schertz also says getting kids vaccinated is an important step to stop community spread and keep more vulnerable populations healthy.
“The better we can prevent community spread through vaccination and social distancing techniques, the more we can prevent the spread and keep individuals healthy,” she says.
About 500,000 children in Wisconsin are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
But parents are divided on whether to get their kids vaccinated or not.
A new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about a third of parents will get their kids vaccinated immediately, a third plan to wait, and a third never plan to vaccinate their kids against COVID.
