Opinion: Vaccinate kids as soon as possible, doctors urge

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 100,000 children in Ohio have been infected, resulting in 1,158 hospitalizations and 6 deaths in our home state. COVID-19 is now a top-10 leading cause of death in children nationwide.

Moreover, thousands of children are now suffering from long-term complications of COVID-19, including a condition known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), which causes severe and prolonged inflammation in vital organs like the heart and lungs. Many of these patients presented to the hospital with no medical problems or predisposing conditions. Despite their relative health, they wound up in critical care units with wires on their chests, intravenous lines in their arms, and tubes in their airways. Some left the hospital with oxygen tanks.

For these children, infection with COVID-19 was anything but benign.

Luckily, as pediatricians, we know that death in childhood is rare. We counsel our patients and their families on injury prevention, like those caused from burns, drowning, firearms and car accidents, because we know most deaths in children are preventable. In other words, kids tend to be healthy. It didn’t always used to be that way.

In the early 1900s, before we had vaccines to protect children against diseases such as measles, polio and whooping cough, it was fairly common for children to die before reaching their fifth birthday. Because of the tireless efforts of scientists and health advocates, that type of world is now hard to imagine. Similarly, a world where we do not need to fear our children dying from and suffering severe complications of COVID-19 is on the horizon. For our children who are ages 12 and above, that world is here right now.

The scientific community has come together and used decades of prior research to create safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 at record speed. Many parents hear the words "record speed" and understandably wonder if the vaccine was made "too fast." Thankfully, because of a lot of resources and hard work, these vaccines have still undergone the exact same steps and safety processes as the other vaccines that we know and trust.

Children 12 and over can now get immunized against COVID-19 with the Pfizer vaccine. Over a thousand children between ages 12 and 15 received the Pfizer vaccine in preliminary trials, many through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. None of these immunized children got COVID-19. In other words, the vaccine was 100% effective in this group.

Moderna released similar results in recent weeks, showing 100% efficacy in patients 12-17 years of age. Furthermore, the immediate side effects – including pain at the injection site, fatigue, chills, and headaches – are minimal, while long-term side effects are highly unlikely. We know this because many years of vaccine research show that vaccine side effects almost exclusively occur within 6 weeks of being given a vaccine. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that the COVID-19 vaccine will have "the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history."

In light of this, we, as pediatricians, are urging parents to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 as soon as possible. Each day of delay represents another opportunity for the virus to strike. It could mean another infection, another case of MIS-C, another admission to the critical care unit, or another death.

Many of the decisions that parents have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic have been incredibly difficult. We hope that the decision about whether to vaccinate your child against COVID-19 is an easier one. So where should you start? Start by asking your pediatrician about their thoughts on the vaccine. Better yet, consider asking them if they would vaccinate or if they have already vaccinated their own children.

We are here to help whenever you are ready.

Dr. Abigail Stein is a pediatrician and president of the Cincinnati Pediatric Society. Dr. Scott Call is chief resident of internal medicine and pediatrics and is affiliated with University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Dr. Nicole Lacasse is a pediatrician and treasurer of the Cincinnati Pediatric Society. Dr. Lauren Huff is a pediatrician and past president of the Cincinnati Pediatric Society.