Dr. Colleen Kraft, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, encourages children to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Kraft pointed out that the vaccine has been used in children aged 12 to 18 already, and now, for children aged 5 to 11, shots with one-third of the standard dose are proving effective.
“The vaccine works just as well at that much smaller dose,” Kraft said.
The most common side effects are a sore arm, fatigue and a low-grade temperature, but typically only with the second dose, not the first, Kraft said.
If a child has a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine, including difficulty breathing or a rash, parents should talk to their child’s doctor. Only children who have allergic reactions should consider not getting the vaccine, Kraft added.
“The only way we’re going to get past this is to have enough people vaccinated that we develop the herd immunity and we get rid of this virus and what it can do to transmit from one child to another or one child to a parent,” Kraft said.