The Truth About the COVID-19 Vaccine for Your Child: Quick, Easy & Free

On Nov. 2 kids ages 5 to 11 officially became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost, making regular school days, trips to the Children’s Museum and sleep overs a little more worry free.

Five to 11 year olds receive the approved Pfizer vaccine at a smaller dosage than those 12 and older. The FDA found the vaccine to be safe for kids and 90.7% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID. Side effects are comparable to those in adults, including pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, chills, muscle pain, fever and joint pain. No incidents of myocarditis were found in the test group.

Parents may question getting the vaccine for their child since COVID-19 tends to be less serious for kids. While children do not die from COVID at the same rate as adults, they can still suffer from both short- and long-term side effects, develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome, require hospitalization and spread the virus to others. Vaccinating children will also help gain control over the pandemic, getting us back to play dates for everyone.

Find a local vaccine provider for your kids or yourself at brookingshealth.org/Vaccine.