Now that the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have both given a thumbs-up to COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 6 months through 4 years old, health officials are preparing to make them available later this month.
In New Hampshire, the Department of Health and Human Services sent out a health alert June 20 advising health care providers to counsel parents and caregivers that COVID-19 vaccination is “recommended and important” to protect children from COVID-19 and complications, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome, hospitalization, death and long COVID symptoms.
Vaccination can also help prevent illness that may result in missed days from child care or school, and prevent parents and caregivers from missing work, the alert said.
“We are excited for this new recommendation that now allows parents and caregivers to protect their young children from COVID-19 and potential health complications,” Dr. Benjamin Chan, New Hampshire’s state epidemiologist, said in a news release from DHHS. “These vaccines are safe and effective, and we recommend that everybody 6 months of age and older get vaccinated.”
As of June 21, New Hampshire had received nearly 10,000 of the 22,700 doses of pediatric vaccine it had ordered, with more shipments arriving weekly, according to the DHHS news release. More than 200 health care providers in New Hampshire, including pediatricians at Dartmouth Health Children’s, are expected to provide COVID-19 vaccines to young children.
Dr. Susanne Tanski, section chief of general pediatrics at Dartmouth Health Children’s, said in a video DH released June 21 that supplies will be limited at first, but current DH patients would be able to sign up for the shots through their mydh.org accounts.
Tanski emphasized that the vaccine is recommended even for children who have already had COVID-19. While some children may get a fever, or be fussy or tired following a shot, Tanski said, the “benefits of getting vaccinated outweigh the risks of getting the vaccine or of getting COVID.”
The vaccines authorized for use in babies and toddlers are given in smaller doses than those for adults — Pfizer is one-tenth the dosage for adults, while Moderna is one-fourth. The Pfizer vaccine is to be given to children 6 months through 4 years in two doses, three weeks apart, followed by a third dose at least two months later. The Moderna vaccine is authorized for children 6 months through 5 years in two doses four weeks apart.
Vaccination locations can be found online at vaccines.gov/search or vaccines.nh.gov. People who are not Dartmouth Health patients can call the organization’s COVID-19 hotline at 603-650-1818, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday though Friday, and 8 a.m., to noon Saturdays.
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
