Preparing for your child to get vaccinated? Here are tips from a top Mayo Clinic pediatrician

With children ages 5-11 now eligible to begin the Covid-19 vaccination process, Dr. Robert Jacobson of the Mayo Clinic says now is the time for parents to starting talking with their kids about inoculation.

“Parents shouldn’t surprise their child with the vaccination,” said Jacobson, a pediatrician and vaccine researcher with the Mayo Clinic Children's Center. “The child should not first be hearing about the vaccine when they show up at a provider’s office or at a pharmacy.”

Jacobson addressed the topic on Wednesday on the heels of the CDC’s long-anticipated endorsement of the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine.

The vaccine, which in clinical trials was 91 percent effective in kids 5-11, is 10 micrograms, one-third of the adolescent/adult dose. The vaccine is administered in the same way: in a two-dose series, three weeks apart.

Mayo says it will begin offering the pediatric vaccine to children ages 5-11 this Friday. Parents may also check with their primary care provider or local pharmacy about getting the vaccine for their kids. Olmsted County Public Health plans to host a clinic later in November or early December.

Talking to your kids

When talking with kids about the vaccine, Jacobson offered a few tips:

Lead by example. “Serve as an example to your child by getting your vaccine … and sharing your experience with them.”

Use positive reinforcement. “Talk to them about how this is a step of maturity, how ‘this is very grown up of them’ … those are words that reward the child … that they are doing the right thing.”

Talk about the benefits of the vaccine. “You should explain to the child that the pain of the injection will come and go, but the benefits are long lasting. Teach them that the vaccine teaches the body to defend against the germs and the harms that these germs do.”

Mark the occasion. “Think about something special your family can do to mark the vaccination and to celebrate the vaccination, as well as to indicate to your child that this was the grown-up thing to do.”

Why get the vaccine?

For parents undecided about getting their child vaccinated, Jacobson underscored the rigor of testing the vaccines go though before being approved — noting the latest vaccine was tested for this particular age group with the same level of care and attention as previous versions.

“We have more monitoring in place for this vaccine than we’ve had for any other vaccine we have rolled out here in the United States,” he said. “In that sense, it is the safest vaccine we’ve ever delivered in the United States.”

Clinical trials, Jacobson added, showed that kids 5-11 developed similar antibody responses with the lower dose as older adolescents.

The vaccine itself was also found to be safe. Like with shots for older individuals, the most common symptoms for ages 5-11 are temporary pain at the injection site, fatigue, and headache and muscle aches.

Jacobson said more serious side effects, notably myocarditis, are very rare, and that the vast majority of cases are mild with short recovery times.

“The numbers of what you prevent with the vaccine far outweigh the small risk of mild to moderate and temporary myocarditis, or muscle inflammation,” said Jacobson.

While the chances of a child developing a serious illness or dying are low, more than 8,300 kids ages 5-11 to have been hospitalized with Covid-19 due to serious illness; at least 94 children in the age group have died.

Jacobson said children, like adults, should be vaccinated even if they have already Covid-19. While natural immunity does provide some protection, it is not as consistent or long-lasting as a vaccine.

“People who have immunity by infection still respond very well to the vaccine and achieve much higher antibody levels than they had with just the infection,” said Jacobson.

With an abundance of misinformation about vaccines on the internet, Jacobson advised families to turn to trusted sources of information, such as the CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics, or Mayo Clinic websites.

In the event families are still unable to find the answers they are looking for, he recommended they turn to a trusted health care provider.

“If you or your child has a question that you are not handling well, that you are not getting the answers you need, or your child is not understanding, bring in your child’s health care provider,” he said. “They should be a part of your decision making of how you pursue preventive care.”

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.

Cover photo licensed via Getty