LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Next week a federal vaccine advisory committee is scheduled to meet to discuss a recommendation to allow 12 to 15-year olds to get the Pfizer vaccine.
Norton Healthcare is already allowing families to preregister for the vaccine in anticipation of approval. You can sign up here. If and when the vaccine is approved, Norton will contact these families to schedule an appointment.
Pfizer conducted a clinical trail with more than 2,000 kids ages 12-15. Of those who got the vaccine, none were symptomatic for COVID-19. It was highly effective and safe from what was reported.
Side effects were similar to ones that young adults have faced, like headache, fatigue or a sore arm.
Kids 16 to 17 are already getting the vaccine, with parental approval.
Norton doctors are encouraging kids 12 to 15 to get the vaccine when they can.
“Early on in the pandemic, there was the thought that children didn't really play much of a role in transmission,” Norton Pediatrician Dr. Kristina Bryant said. “What we know now is that older kids, teenagers, are quite similar to adults.”
Part of what Norton is trying to do is bust myths about the vaccine to parents, whose children are still developing.
“Parents say, 'will this integrate into my child's DNA and affect the way they grow and develop?'” Dr. Bryant said. “We can say, no, no it will not.”
Even though older adults have been more severely impacted by the virus, 3.7 million kids in the U.S. have contracted the virus. Two of every 100 of those kids will be hospitalized, and one third of those children will need to be in the ICU.
“There's no way to predict if your child is going to be one of those children. I think the safest thing to do for children is to protect them from getting infected,” Dr. Bryant said.
The summer is approaching and as more people get vaccinated, more of the country is anticipated to open back up. Doctors are encouraging people to get the vaccine so that can happen quicker.
“The longer we go with this, the more chances of having variants develop and more difficult variants over time," Norton Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Joseph Flynn said. "So, this is our point in the moment in time to really try to impact upon that.”
Norton Healthcare is planning to host a Facebook live in the future to answer any questions parents might have about signing their children up for the vaccine.
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