COVID VACCINE 5-11 YR OLDS

Sept 21, 2021

A number of parents have called our office or responded to our facebook posts asking for clear, professional advice and our collective opinion about what is best for children regarding the newly approved opportunity to vaccinate all children, 5 years and older, against COVID-19. Parents are reading a lot of conflicting advice on whether to vaccinate or wait to vaccinate children, on whether the vaccine is safe or unsafe.  We want our families to know that our doctors follow newly published data on both the disease and vaccination against COVID-19, as it affects children.  We listen to updates from the nation’s most renowned infectious disease experts every week, so that we may be up to date and use our training and experience to make the best decisions in caring for your children.

We unequivocally recommend that your children should receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they become eligible.  All of our own children and grandchildren are in the process of becoming fully immunized.  First, know that numbers are increasingly concerning in Michigan.  As of the time of this post, Michigan is seeing the highest COVID case numbers in the nation.  We are in our fourth surge, with more than 7,000 new cases per day and more than 50,000 new people becoming infected per week.  Some of these are “breakthrough” infections, but most are among those that have chosen to not become vaccinated. Of the new cases, 25-27% are children.  Children are testing positive for COVID every day in our office.  Children are of less risk but NOT “no risk.”  There are currently about 60 children on oxygen in Michigan Hospitals.  It is obvious that the Delta variant is more contagious and infecting more children every day.  It is important to understand that children can get an acute illness, they can get a delayed “multisystem inflammatory disease,” and they can get “long COVID,” a brain fog that lasts for weeks.  None of this is reassuring.  It appears that COVID is going to be with us for a long time.  For certain, the best protection is vaccination.

Regarding side effects, we have seen no concerning side effects in the immunized children in our practice.  Many parents ask us about the rare risk of “myocarditis” after immunization in adolescents.  This is unfortunate but looks to be true.  However, it is important to understand all of the information.

Here is the risk and outcome:

A recent very large study of millions of children found the risk of myocarditis world wide to be about 2 cases per 100,000 children immunized.  Fortunately, almost every case had a good outcome after a few days on Ibuprofen.  Here are the facts about catching COVID as a disease: If we allow our children to become infected with COVID, heart inflammation (myocarditis) is much more likely: between 100 and 200 cases per 100,000, or between 50 and 100 time more likely. Allowing our children to go unimmunized is making a decision to allow them to have COVID.  Experts feel that in time, sooner or later almost every single person that is not vaccinated will catch COVID.  

The good news is that many of us have chosen to immunize our children.  As of this writing, approximately 12-15 million adolescents have had their first vaccine, and 3 million younger children ages 5-11 years have had their first COVID vaccine.  Some parents have said they would wait because the vaccine was initially tested on about 3,000 children.  But months have passed and now we have many millions of children who have received the Pfizer vaccine. Further, initial observations of younger children found that initial side effects (fever, aches and pains, fatigue) are less. This is encouraging and may be due to the lower dose, one-third of the adult dosage.

At Child Health Associates we are by nature very careful, especially about possible side effects. We want our families to understand that not immunizing is a risky decision also. This is a hard position for families to be in. We trust that you will make the best decision for your family.

In partnership,

The doctors of Child Health Associates Troy and Novi, Michigan

Welcome To Our Practice

Founded in 1975, Child Health Associates, P.C. has a long history of providing innovative, high quality medical care to the children of the Detroit metropolitan area. When you come to our office you will be seen by a board certified M.D. pediatrician every time. Your concerns will be addressed and close follow up assured. With offices in both Troy and Novi we are convenient to most of the northern and western suburban areas.

Child Health Associates is a designated "Patient Centered Medical Home." We have an ongoing commitment to close, careful and complete monitoring of your children's health care. All of our doctors are also parents, and we care for our patients with the same courtesy, kindness, understanding and professionalism that we'd expect for our own children.

Our practice employs cutting edge technology including electronic medical records, direct to pharmacy prescription requests, and a HIPAA secure website. Whether you are visiting our Troy or Novi location, or even talking to one of our doctors at their homes, we have access to your child's complete medical record.

To help you get acquainted with our practice, we have provided much of the important information you need on our website. Please browse these pages to learn more about our doctors, practice mission, office and insurance details, frequently asked questions, new patient registration forms, and even request a future appointment. Please feel free to call either of our offices with any questions or concerns.