Bucks Montgomery Physician Summer 2021 - 21

Silly Rabbit.
Trix are for Kids.
by Christopher Drumm, MD
Norristown Family Physicians, Einstein Medical Center Montgomery
ever in the past of vaccines not causing immediate issues
but then leading to long term negative outcomes.
What did the kids' trials show? I think parents want real
information. So here it is: They studied around 3,000
children aged 12-15 for over three months. Of those that
got the vaccine, zero were infected with COVID by the
end of the trial. And 18 in the placebo trial did get infected
with COVID. Also, those that were vaccinated were found
to have strong immunity a month after the second dose.
S
illy Rabbit. Trix are for kids. Growing up this was a
cereal commercial. It reminded us that this highly
sugary cereal was meant for children. Not a cereal
for adults or rabbits, but kids. Now the most common
question I am getting is " Hey doc, should my kids get a
COVID vaccine? " Silly parents. Vaccines are for kids.
I think the best way to start the discussion about children
getting vaccinated for COVID is by realizing that it is normal
for parents to be reluctant. I think having a conversation
about their concerns is a good place for us to get started.
The Pfizer vaccine has now been approved for
children aged 12-16, and it does look like the Moderna
vaccine will be approved in the near future.
Did the vaccine come out too quickly? The answer to
this question is both yes and no. First, I want to point
out that the pandemic changed everyone's lives, including
virologists, researchers and pharmaceutical companies.
Basically, all of the scientists ever involved in vaccines
stopped what they were doing to work on a vaccine. The
technology behind mRNA has been around for a while.
What long term outcomes could happen from the vaccine?
Most vaccine issues happen within the first 42 days. These
vaccines do create quite an immune response, but that
happens right away. At this point with adults, we have
data almost a year out since the vaccine trials started
in adults last summer. We do not have many examples
Could my child have side effects? They can absolutely get
an immune response. Vaccines are not benign, but they
can be lifesaving. Side effects include redness, arm pain
and achiness. The rate of side effects in the children's
studies were the same as what has been found in adults.
But kids do not really get that sick? This is true. But there have
been 130,000 hospitalizations in those under 18 in the past
year. I have taken care of many children that had COVID.
None of them were critically ill, but they got their parents sick.
They had to quarantine while they recovered. There are many
pockets of outbreaks from adolescents. There is also a rare
chance that children can develop Multisystem Inflammatory
Syndrome in Children after getting COVID-19 infection.
The world now has given almost 2 billion doses
of COVID vaccines. Not all to children. But at
this time, it is not experimental. It is not new. It is
saving the world from a pandemic that would have
gone on for many years without vaccines.
I love well checks for children. I get an update on what foods
they like. How much weight they have gained. Whether
or not they slept through the night. I hold them and try
to remember when my children were still that little. Then
I give them shots. Lots of vaccines. At 2 months and 4
months and 6 months and 1 year and more. Because as
I said earlier - Silly parents. Vaccines are for kids. But on
second thought, we probably shouldn't give Trix to kids.
BUCKS AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETIES 19
Bucks Montgomery Physician Summer 2021

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