Children as young as six months are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and appointments can be booked online in Santa Clara County. The first appointments will be offered at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds starting Tuesday.
The first boxes of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for kids ages six months to five years old arrived in Santa Clara County Monday.
Dr. Grace Lee, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stanford Children’s Health said getting the children the COVID-19 vaccine is the smart move.
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“COVID-19 infection actually is one of the leading causes of death and the top infectious reason for deaths among children under 5 years of age in the U.S. We now have the opportunity with this tool to be able to prevent unnecessary deaths," she said.
There will be two options for kids in the age range:
- Pfizer, which will require three doses.
- Moderna, which will be delivered in two doses.
Reported side effects include headaches, fever and fatigue.
Soren received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children during a Stanford clinical trial. He was just 7 months old. His 3-year-old big brother Andel also received the shot.
Back in February, Zinaida Good, the mother of the two children, talked to NBC Bay Area about how her sons fared after getting the vaccine.
“They did great. It was just another vaccine and Andel, who was 3 years old at the time, had a sore arm for a day and baby Soren, who was 7 months, he didn't have any side effects and they’ve been happy kids ever since,” she said.
While myocarditis or heart inflammation is a rare risk for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in adults and children ages 12 and older. Lee said it does not appear to impact kids under 5.
“In the clinical trials, the data that was shared to us, there was no cases of myocarditis in this young age group following vaccination for either the Moderna or the Pfizer vaccine,” she said.
For parents who have a child that already had COVID-19, Lee also said she still recommends they get vaccinated.
“We do recommend that even among children who might have had a prior infection, we do believe that vaccines can actually add much benefit to their protection over time," she said.
In the South Bay, for residents who like to book an appointment to get their children vaccinated, they can visit to covid19.scc.gov.org. Other counties will be offering appointments on their websites. They can also check with their pediatrician.
