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Opinion: Pediatrician’s advice for parents considering a potential Covid-19 vaccine for young children


As a pediatrician, I find this reaction to be bad. As a new mother with a beautiful son who will be 6 months old this March, I understand this concern of parents. I have accepted that anxiety is part of being a parent, and despite being well versed in the science, I have also stopped to ask myself if I am ready for my child’s Covid-19 vaccine. . After all, my most important job as a mother is to keep him safe.

Then, knowing that some of us may be torn by the choices ahead, but we all want to keep our children safe, I wanted to share with you a few things that bring My comfort as the Covid-19 infant vaccine is done through the regulatory process.

Context of childhood immunization

Few things in this world are as rigorously tested and monitored as childhood immunizations, and for good reason. Vaccines, unlike drugs to treat diseases, are given to healthy children to keep them healthy. Therefore, the standard of safety and efficacy that a vaccine must have in order to be approved is extremely high.

A teacher's plea in the middle of Omicron
When it comes to specific Covid-19 vaccines, we have a lot of general experience with their safety and effectiveness. To date, more than 317 million doses Pfizer vaccine has been given separately in the United States and has been largely tolerated without significant problems.

I also find it helpful to remember that after vaccination, immunity exists in the body but not the vaccine itself. Many parents have shared with me their concerns about the long-term effects of vaccines on their child’s development, fertility, and future growth. I usually interpret a vaccine as a kind of brief message that tells the body to take protection against a virus, and once received and acted upon, the body destroys that message.

In other words, vaccines subdivided ingredients and not at concentrations or durations that could affect the growth or fertility of children, nor have the ingredients themselves been found to do so.

Vaccine approval process

While it can be a bit overwhelming at times, it’s hard to follow how thorough the vaccine review and approval process in this country is.

Before a pharmaceutical company can obtain a vaccine emergency use authorization, trial participants are observed to average of two months. I find this waiting request particularly reassuring. Decades ago, when a vaccine was found to cause a rare but potentially serious side effect, it happened. for a period of six weeks after vaccination. Therefore, the average waiting period of two months is one way to ensure these potential side effects have enough time to manifest before regulators even examine the data.
Once the data is sent to the US Food and Drug Administration, it will reviewed by the agency’s Independent Vaccines and Related Biologicals Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). and, where appropriate, the vaccine will be provided with an EUA. From there, it will be forwarded to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where another independent group of experts, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), will review it and make recommendations. recommendations on how vaccines should be administered to the US public. Usually, the director of CDC will accept the committee’s recommendation.

Behind the long names and acronyms, these committees are made up of some of the most brilliant scientific minds of our time, which gives me one more reason to believe in the process.

The vaccines that children receive regularly go through this process over many years and have been shown to be safe and effective. This until now has led me to vaccinate my son as soon as he is eligible against diseases like hepatitis B, diphtheria, polio, whooping cough and others. As the Covid-19 vaccine moves through the regulatory process in the coming weeks, I hope to be able to tune in to the noise, put aside all worries, and have a clear mind like a new mom can, know. that FDA and CDC recommendations will be fact-based and implemented by those who have worked diligently for decades to protect our children from dangerous and sometimes deadly illnesses. Deadly. I can only wish the same for you.



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