COLORADO SPRINGS — Children as young as 6 months old can now get vaccinated against covid-19. But you might be wondering what are the benefits of vaccinating your young children?
I spoke with Dr. Sara Saporta-Keating, a local pediatric epidemiologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs who tells me she is also a mother who has a child under the age of five. She understands why some parents may be hesitant to vaccinate their kids in this age group.
But Dr. Saporta-Keating tells me that there are several reasons why you should vaccinate your children. Although some data shows, that kids in this age group are less likely to have severe symptoms of covid-19, there are still risks parents take if they do not vaccinate their children.
“There are still many thousands of kids particularly in this age group that have been hospitalized and unfortunately there have been deaths. So, I think again, allowing them the opportunity to have some of this immunity, really with the idea that we want them to be protected from severe illness is incredibly important,” said Saporta-Keating.
“There are illnesses that kids can get after the fact so Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, in particular which can occur several weeks after covid and certainly there’s some evidence that this can protect them against that and even things like long covid.”
As a doctor, Saporta-Keating has treated children who have had more severe covid cases and long-term effects. She says she will vaccinate her child who is under the age of five because as a mother she doesn’t want to take the risk of her child having "long covid" or other issues caused from covid-19. To view a list of potential complications, visit here.
Dr. Saporta-Keating says it is of course, up to the parent to make the best choice for their child, but she wanted to make sure that parents have all the information available before they make a decision. For more information or to sign up your child for a vaccine at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs, visit here.
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