I have spent a large part of my career advocating for the safety and efficacy of vaccines for children and adults.
As a pediatrician in Columbia, South Carolina, I have had many conversations with parents about vaccines that prevent whooping cough, measles, mumps, polio, meningitis, hepatitis, cervical cancer, and now COVID-19. After several years of these conversations, I have found ways to present the facts while also listening carefully and respectfully to parents’ concerns and answering any questions that children and teens may have.
But the COVID-19 vaccine conversations are different.
Some of my patients and their parents were knocking down the clinic doors to get the vaccine as soon as it was available to them.
Then there were the families who were generally in favor of the vaccine but had some questions. These were fairly easy conversations during which I was able to address their concerns and discuss the benefits of the vaccine and the risks of the disease. Most of these families received the vaccine shortly after these conversations.
And then there are the families who are truly hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Some are hesitant about vaccines in general, but most are not. Some believe that the vaccine was created too quickly and hasn’t undergone enough testing. Others have heard stories about medical problems related to the vaccine, including heart disease and infertility. Some fear that it may alter their genetic information.
I try my best to address all these concerns with the families in my practice, and I will try to address them here in the same way, because the health and safety of our children depend on it.
Are there potential side effects from these vaccines? Yes, as with any vaccines there are potential side effects. They have been largely found to resolve on their own and certainly are less serious than the potentially serious short- and long-term effects of COVID-19.
The potential side effect that has received the most media attention and generated the most fear is myocarditis, or heart inflammation after a COVID-19 vaccine. Although this can occur after vaccination, it is extremely rare and typically mild. The benefits of vaccination far outweigh this very uncommon side effect.
What about blood clots after the COVID-19 vaccine? There is a rare chance of clots after vaccination, mostly women under age 50, with the Johnson and Johnson Janssen vaccine. Again, the benefits of vaccination are much higher than the risk of getting this rare side effect.
And what of the reports of long-term infertility following COVID-19 vaccine? There is no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccine, have any ability to impair fertility. The mRNA vaccine does its work and is broken down and eliminated.
How about changes to the patient’s DNA from the COVID-19 vaccine? Neither the mRNA vaccines nor the viral vector vaccines have any ability to interact with or change a person’s DNA. The science is very clear on this, and it’s vital for us to trust the rigorous processes that go into a vaccine before it ever becomes available to the general population.
And what about the folks who continue to say that COVID-19 is not a dangerous illness for children? Well, the delta variant has changed that. Our pediatric emergency rooms and pediatric intensive care units in South Carolina are full. Not all the children admitted there have COVID-19, but some of them certainly do. When these units are full, it affects everyone, regardless of the reason that they need emergency or intensive care.
There have also been deaths in children from COVID-19. While infrequent, even one death from a disease that could have been prevented is too many.
The COVID-19 vaccines have now been given to millions of people ages 12 and older. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for those age 12 and up, while the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen products are approved for those 18 and older. All three vaccines have undergone extensive testing. All have been found to be safe and effective. All have been shown to dramatically decrease the risk of catching COVID-19. More importantly, they have been shown to dramatically decrease the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
COVID-19 cases are spiking, especially in the South, and the highly contagious delta variant is on the move. About 90% of COVID-19 cases were caused by the delta variant as of late July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
The vaccine can help prevent this spread and get us back on the path to normalcy.
If you have questions or fears about the vaccine, please talk with your family doctor or pediatrician. We are here to listen and to help.
I will continue to advocate for the COVID-19 vaccine for my patients who are old enough to receive it. I will continue to have the conversations and to answer the questions so that my patients and their parents can feel comfortable being vaccinated. I will continue to follow the science as the vaccine trials continue for younger children. And I will continue to advocate for children as we navigate our way through this pandemic.
Dr. Deborah Greenhouse is a pediatrician in Columbia, South Carolina.