Are The Pfizer And Moderna Vaccines As Effective For Children 6 Months To 4 Years As They Are For Older Kids
Yes. We have seen many more small children hospitalized in this latest COVID-19 surge than in previous surges and unfortunately more than 1,000 children have died of COVID-19 in the United States alone. These vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in reducing severe illness and hospitalizations from COVID-19.
Q: Will Weor Can Wemake Any Of The Three Current Vaccines Seeking Approval In Canada Ourselves Under A Licence
A: For these first three , there are no plans to manufacture them in Canada. Thats not unusual. The majority of vaccines we get in Canada are imported. The one vaccine that has been subject to the advance-purchase agreement that will be manufactured in Canada is the Medicago vaccine. But the ones we are looking at for reviews would not be manufactured in Canadaat least not at the beginning.
I Live In South Carolina Part Of The Year Can I Get Vaccinated Here
Yes. Non-permanent residents who are living in South Carolina at the time they are eligible to receive vaccine can be vaccinated here, just as South Carolinians staying in another state can receive their vaccine there. There is no need for proof of residency in order to receive the vaccine.
What to Expect
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How Will I Know When To Get My Second Dose
After receiving your first shot, you will receive a paper immunization record that will be completed at the time of vaccination. It will include the vaccine you received, date and location, and date when your next shot is needed. Individuals will be reminded when its time to receive their second shot.
The vaccine you receive and when you need the second dose is confidential health information that is carefully managed to protect your privacy.
Will People Who Have Already Had Covid
Yes. Once they have completed their isolation period, people previously infected with COVID-19 should receive the vaccine. According to the CDC, people appear to become susceptible to reinfection after more than 90 days from the time they were initially infected. Reinfection appears to be rare during the first 90 days after someone was infected with COVID-19. It is currently unknown how long immunity from natural infection lasts, and being vaccinated can help prevent re-infection, serious illness, hospitalization and death.
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How Many Vaccine Shots Do Kids Get
Moderna’s vaccine is a two-shot dose. Each dose is 25 micrograms, a quarter the strength given to adults, with the second shot given four weeks after the first.
Pfizer’s vaccine is a three-shot process: Each dose is only 3 micrograms, a tenth of the adult version. The first two shots are given three weeks apart, and the third is administered at least two months after the second.
Booking Your 2nd Dose
People aged 16 or over are eligible for a 2nd dose.
People aged 18 or over should have their 2nd dose from 8 weeks after their 1st dose.
Most people aged 16 or 17 should have their 2nd dose from 12 weeks after their 1st dose.
- If you book online, you’ll be asked to book appointments for both doses. You can manage your COVID-19 vaccination appointments to view your appointments and rebook if you need to.
- If you had your 1st dose at a walk-in vaccination site, you can book your 2nd COVID-19 vaccination appointment online. You’ll need to wait 24 hours after your 1st dose before you can book.
- If you have your 1st dose through your GP surgery, you’ll be contacted when it’s time to book your 2nd dose.
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Moderna Dosing For Children:
- Children 6 months-6 years: Just 25 micrograms per shot, given in two shots, spaced one month apart.
- Children 6-12: 50 micrograms per shot, half of the dosage for adults. The vaccine is also given in two shots, spaced one month apart.
- Children 12-17: 100 micrograms per shot, the same dosage for adults. As with adults, the vaccine is given in two shots, spaced one month apart.
Please note: right now, there is no required third dose for the Moderna vaccine.
Do I Have A Choice Of Which Vaccine To Take
For now, most Americans will have to take whatever vaccine they are offered. That may change in the second half of 2021 as more vaccines are available, but it could require going to the back of the line if you are eligible to get vaccinated and the vaccine available at the time is not the one you want.
The good news is that there appears to be little difference between the two currently available vaccines. Both are over 90% effective, require two shots and have been shown to produce only mild side effects including fevers, headaches and arm soreness in about 20% of all patients.
As of yet, neither vaccine has been approved for kids or teens. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been cleared for people 16-years-old and up. The Moderna vaccine has been authorized for people 18 and older.
A big change could come if Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which only requires one shot, is approved. But that won’t happen in the U.S. until the spring at the earliest, observers said, and even then there will only be 100,000 doses of that vaccine targeted at poorer nations available for Americans.
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Q: But Isnt This So Tightly Regulated That The Vaccines Would Have To Be The Exact Same
A: To use an analogy, say you have the same restaurant in Europe as the United States. You have different chefs. But they have the same menu, have the same recipes and make the same food. But you have to make sure each of them passes inspection. In the process of making that mealeven if they follow the same directionsthere will be little differences between the two.
Anyone In The United States Can Get Vaccinated
The federal government is providing vaccines free of charge to everyone 5 years and older living in the United States, regardless of their immigration or health insurance status.
Ensuring that everyone ages 5 years and older in the United States can receive a COVID-19 vaccine helps us get closer to the goal of achieving population immunity. Population immunity makes it harder for COVID-19 to spread from person to person, and it even helps protect people who cannot receive a vaccine, like newborns.
CDC does not require U.S. citizenship for individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Jurisdictions cannot add U.S. citizenship requirements or require U.S. citizenship verification as a requirement for vaccination.
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Do I Need To Give Consent For My Child To Get Vaccinated
Parents generally need to consent to children receiving medical care, including Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. This is especially true for younger children.
However, depending on which state you live in, there may be a legal precedent for teens and other kids to request the vaccine without parental permission.
Tennessee’s vaccine director, Michelle Fiscus, was fired in August, allegedly in part for sending out a memo detailing the state’s “mature minor doctrine,” which explains how minors may seek medical care without the consent of their parents.
Preparing For Your Vaccine
You can get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, including a flu vaccine, at the same visit. Experience with other vaccines has shown that the way our bodies develop protection, known as an immune response, and possible side effects after getting vaccinated are generally the same when given alone or with other vaccines. Learn more about the timing of other vaccines.
You should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19.
Getting sick with COVID-19 offers some protection from future illness with COVID-19, sometimes called natural immunity. The level of protection people get from having COVID-19 may vary depending on how mild or severe their illness was, the time since their infection, and their age. No currently available test can reliably determine if a person is protected from infection.
All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States are effective at preventing COVID-19. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine gives most people a high level of protection against COVID-19 even in people who have already been sick with COVID-19.
Emerging evidence shows that getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you recover from COVID-19 infection provides added protection to your immune system. One study showed that, for people who already had COVID-19, those who do not get vaccinated after their recovery are more than 2 times as likely to get COVID-19 again than those who get fully vaccinated after their recovery.
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How Do I Schedule And Prepare For My Appointment
Step 1: Find a location and schedule your appointment
Use VaxFinder.mass.gov to search for a vaccine appointment near you.
People without access to the internet or who are unable to schedule their appointment online can call toll free or for assistance.
Step 2: Learn how to prepare for your appointment and what you need to bring with you.
You will never be asked for a credit card number to make an appointment.
Will A Vaccine Offer Complete Protection Against Covid
Immunization may keep you from getting severely ill but wont necessarily prevent you from getting infected, Fauci said.
The issue is that youre not going to be completely protected against a degree of infection that you might not even notice that you might be able to spread to others, the top doc said in a virtual chat with the Hastings Center.
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Vaccination Offer For Children 5
Following on from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation recommendations to further expand the COVID-19 vaccination programme, all 5-11 year olds will be offered their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
We are encouraging parents and children to access up-to-date and factual information from trusted sources. Public Health Wales have published information on their website to support this and the Chief Medical Officer has shared a letter for parents and guardians through schools:
In most cases, children will receive an appointment from their local Health Board and details will be available and updated regularly on your local health boards website and social media. Links to every health boards vaccination web pages are available here, check for local information:
There is no need to contact your GP to ask about vaccination appointments as delivery of the vaccine will be primarily administered through vaccination centres, and children will need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian. There is no age priority within the JCVI advice, which makes it easier for eligible siblings to be vaccinated at the same time.
Information For People Who Are Moderately To Severely Immunocompromised
People with moderately to severely compromised immune systems will generally have lower antibody responses from two COVID-19 vaccine doses. Studies show that giving a third dose to complete the initial vaccine series can help these individuals create antibodies to protect them from COVID-19.
People who are moderately to severely immunocompromised and meet the criteria will receive a third dose of vaccine.
Have had a solid-organ transplant and are taking immunosuppressive therapy:
- Have had a solid organ transplant. May include a heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas or islet cells, bowel or combination organ transplant
Are on active treatment for solid tumour or hematologic malignancies :
- Since January 2020 have received an anti-CD20 drug for a malignant condition
- Since March 2020, have received or are receiving systemic therapy . This includes solid tumours as well as hematologic cancers within this time period
- Since October 2020, have received or are receiving radiation therapy for cancer
Have had a hematopoietic stem cell transplant:
- Since September 2019, have had bone marrow or stem cell transplant or are still taking immunosuppressant medications related to transplant
Have moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency:
Are on active treatment with the following categories of immunosuppressive therapies:
Are on dialysis and/or with severe kidney or renal disease:
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My Child Already Had Covid
Prior infection may not provide broad protection against newer SARS-CoV-2 variants.
“After having the illness, getting vaccinated provides you better protection than infection alone,” says Dr. Delair. “Also, some kids have been reinfected with the newer, more contagious omicron variants after recovering from alpha or delta variants. I’d recommend children get vaccinated for the best protection.”
If your child is actively sick with COVID-19, wait until they’re better to get them vaccinated. “Once they’ve recovered from COVID-19, and they’re doing well, get them vaccinated,” advises Dr. Delair. “If they’ve received monoclonal antibodies, they have to wait 90 days. Then after that, they can get vaccinated.”
Canadas International Vaccine Distribution
As of May 27, 2022, over 14.5 million surplus vaccine doses have been delivered through the COVAX Facility. Canada has also shared 762,080 AstraZeneca doses through direct, bilateral arrangements with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The following table shows the countries that have received surplus doses donated by Canada, either through COVAX or through bilateral agreements. The table only accounts for Canadas surplus vaccine doses. It does not include dose equivalents resulting from Canadas financial contribution to COVAX.
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What Does A Covid
When you come into contact with viruses or bacteria, your bodys immune system makes antibodies to fight them off.
A vaccine forces your immune system to make antibodies against a specific disease, usually with a dead or weakened form of the germs. Then, if you come into contact with them again, your immune system knows what to do. The vaccine gives you immunity, so you dont get sick or so your illness is much milder than it otherwise would have been.
The vaccine should slow the spread of COVID-19 around the world. Fewer people should get sick, and more lives can be saved.
Does A Teenager Need Parent Guardian Permission
In South Carolina, individuals 16 and older are able to consent to vaccination without parental permission. They do not need to be accompanied to a vaccine appointment by a parent or guardian. However, consent is required by a parent or legal guardian for children ages 5-15 before they can receive their Pfizer vaccine. All vaccine providers have their own unique immunization consent forms.
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How Much Does The Vaccine Cost
The federal government pre-purchased hundreds of millions of vaccine doses with taxpayer money, so Americans do not have to pay to receive them, including the booster shots.
Vaccine providers are able to charge an administration fee for giving the shot, but this fee should be covered by public or private insurance or by a government relief fund for the uninsured.
What’s The Difference Between The Moderna And Pfizer Vaccines
While both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been approve for children, there are differences between the two.
There are several key differences between the two vaccines, including potential side effects and proven effectiveness.
Side effectsBetween 21% to 26% of kids age 6 months to 5 years developed a fever after each dose of the Moderna vaccine, more than in adolescents and adults. Fever was less common in the Pfizer trial, reported in only 7% of children ages 6 to 23 months after each shot.
In the Moderna trial, 62% of kids 3 to 5 years old experienced fatigue, compared with just under 45% of children age 2 to 4 years old in Pfizer’s trial.
EffectivenessTwo doses of the Moderna vaccine are 51% effective in preventing infection in children 6 months to 2 years old, the company reported, and 37% in kids 2 through 5. The vaccine’s ability to prevent serious illness or hospitalization is expected to be higher.
Pfizer has reported its three-dose vaccine was 80% in preventing infection, but its research was based on a very small pool of subjects. More data will become available as its vaccine is rolled out widely.
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Why You Should Get A Covid
Fully vaccinated people can participate in many of the activities that they did before the pandemic for some of these activities, they should wear a mask. Although infections happen in only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the Delta variant, preliminary evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people who do become infected can spread the virus to others. People who are fully vaccinated should:
- Wear a mask in all indoor public spaces if you live in area of high or substantial levels of transmission as defined by the CDC until more people are vaccinated and viral transmission decreases.
- Wear a face covering in all K-12 schools, child care, indoor settings with a large number of children or child-focused activities , public transportation, healthcare settings, high density congregate settings , and large crowded indoor venues .
- Get tested if you have any symptoms of COVID-19. After an exposure to COVID-19, you should get tested 5-7 days after exposure and wear a mask indoors in public until you get a negative test result. If your test result is positive, isolate at home for 10 days.
- More information can be found from the CDC here.