Note since this article was written the EUA for the updated boosters has been extended to kids as young as 6 months old.
In July of this year, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians wrote an open letter to parents and caregivers of kids 6 months and older. The letter encourages all to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19.
There are 3 vaccines authorized for kids.
The vaccine developed by the biotech company Moderna is available for everyone 6 months and older. To be best effective, 2 doses of the vaccine are needed at least 4 weeks apart. The dose given to kids under the age of 6 is just one fourth of the dose given to adults for their primary shots and for kids 6 to 12 years old it is half the dose.
The vaccine developed by the biotech company BioNTech is also available for children as young as 6 months. The cooperation between the biotech company BioNTech and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer resulted in the very first COVID-19 vaccine being authorized in the US. The BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine was also the first to be available for kids. In testing the vaccine for those under the age of 5 they chose a very low dose of the vaccine - just 10% of the adult dose - it was found that we need to give kids 3 doses of the vaccine in this small amount to result in good protection against COVID-19. Kids in the 5 - 11 year old range are vaccinated with just a third of the adult dose, the primary series for these kids is 2 doses separated by at least 3 weeks. Your teenagers 12 and older can get the full adult dose, the primary series being 2 doses separated by at least 3 weeks.
As with most vaccinations; boosters, bolster protection. For kids 5 years and older booster doses are available. The updated vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are referred to as “bivalent”. These vaccines contain both the original mRNA sequences as well as mRNA sequences that are specific to the current Omicron variants that are dominant in the United States. Everyone 5 years and older who are at least 2 months out from their primary vaccination or last booster can get the updated booster. The vaccines are half a dose of the new mRNA and half of the original mRNA.
Giving a vaccine directed against more than one variation of a virus is nothing new. Every year the influenza vaccines are formulated to protect us against the strains that are predicted to be circulating. The influenza vaccine that was injected into my arm last week was a “quadrivalent” vaccine. I was vaccinated with a vaccine containing surface proteins from 4 different influenza virus strains.
If you have not already protected yourself or children with any dose of the COVID-19 shots, you can still gain protection by getting one of the original (monovalent) vaccines. The new COVID-19 bivalent vaccines have been shown to prepare a person with a set of antibodies that are likely to better defend against the Omicron variant. However, people who have only received the original vaccine - still have good protection against severe disease, especially if you have been vaccinated in the last few months.
Novavax is the most recent COVID-19 vaccine to become available in the United States. This vaccine is available to all 12 years and older. Novavax is somewhat different from the previously available vaccines against COVID-19. All vaccines do one basic thing; they work with our immune system to help protect us against harm. A vaccine gives our immune system a chance to prepare for specific infections. There are many ways vaccines can accomplish this goal. The Novavax vaccine does this by presenting fragments of protein from SARS-CoV-2. This vaccine technology has been utilized for 3 decades. Examples of previous protein subunit vaccines include those that have protected us against hepatitis, pneumonia, meningitis and influenza. Novavax has been available in other countries for some time.
Kids under the age of 6 months are not currently eligible for any of the COVID-19 vaccines in the United States but can still get protection against COVID-19. Studies have shown that maternal antibodies against COVID-19 can pass through the placenta and are found in breast milk. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the two leading organizations representing specialists in obstetric care, recommend that all pregnant individuals be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Kids are at low risk but from severe COVID-19 compared to older people. However, the risk for hospitalization, death and long-term consequences is not low in comparison to other common infectious diseases such as influenza.
Go to vaccines.gov to find a place to get your family protected against COVID-19. Make sure the location offers the correct vaccine for your child and that they can accommodate the age of your child. The district health department in Crete (Public Health Solutions) will vaccinate kids 6 months and older.
COVID-19 vaccines are available at no charge to your family. The clinic or pharmacy may be able to get reimbursement for the labor of administering the vaccine from your health insurance provider, but you should not be charged anything for getting your child protected. All statements in this article should be attributed to myself, not any organization I represent or my employer.
Russ Coash, PA-C
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