Voice of the consumer: How to get your child vaccinated
Our 11 News Call For Action team pens a weekly column for our news partner The Gazette. Previous columns can be found here.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - The final age group waiting for approval is now able to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said it supports the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for all children ages 6 months and older to get the vaccine.
The AAP is urging families to check with your pediatrician and health care providers about how to get your child vaccinated. The AAP said this is especially important for “the youngest members of our community, who have waiting the longest for this protection.”
“Pediatricians know the power of vaccines to protect infants, children, adolescents and entire communities against deadly and debilitating infectious diseases,” pediatrician Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado, M.D., FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a recent news release.
“We’ve successfully immunized millions of children and adolescents to protect them from COVID-19. Families with infants and toddlers need and deserve the same chance to protect their children against this virus.”
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said that Colorado will receive enough vaccines so that any parents or guardians will be able to get their young child vaccinated. The vaccines will be distributed in waves. Colorado will be getting 31,600 doses of both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNtech vaccines for the first two waves. Nearly 270 providers have already placed orders, according to the state.
“Parents like me are ready to get our young children vaccinated and give them the protection we’ve been anxiously awaiting with this approval,’’ said Heather Roth, immunization branch chief for the CDPHE, in a press release on the matter. “While children younger than 5 are less vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 than adults, they can still experience severe and lasting outcomes. Vaccines are the safest, most effective way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and help avoid the worst outcomes for Coloradans of all ages.”
The Pfizer vaccine for young children is three doses, and the Moderna vaccine is two doses. Health experts said children can get their COVID-19 vaccine safely at the same time as their other routine childhood vaccines. You can reach out to your pediatrician for more information.
According to the AAP, as of this month, more than 23 million children ages 5 to 17 years old have received two doses of the vaccine. They said 26 million in that age group have not received any doses.
“We must not let up in our efforts to make sure all families can benefit from the protection of these vaccines,” said AAP President Moira Szilagyi, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP, in a news release. “Pediatricians are ready to have these conversations, and parents and caregivers should feel comfortable bringing their questions to their trusted pediatrician to have their questions addressed.”
You can find more information from the state, and find out where to get vaccinated, at the website covid19.colorado.gov/vaccinefinder. We put a link on our website, kktv.com; just click the red “Find It” tab.
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