Did you get you teen a covid shot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those that say kids were equally sick or worse from COVID vaccine than illness, they ignore that the vaccine is scheduled.

My child got Covid vaccine on a Friday. And we planned for a restful weekend. But hardly any side effects. Much better than unexpected and disruptive Covid illness. Of course people get sick, but you are not helpless against illness. Vaccinate. Wash your hands. Sleep. Eat well.

And the immunity lasts longer with a vaccine than illness.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know

But we haven’t been getting Covid yearly.

That is absolutely not true. There is long lasting cellular immunity with a natural infection you do not get at all with the vaccine.

? The comment is about us, meaning my family. Unlike the flu, which even with vaccines we have had hit our household each year, we have only had Covid hit us twice. (By that, all but dad got it one year, and only one of the children got it the second time). And yes, we do test when we get symptoms.

Given that we don’t get Covid very often (and it’s very mild), the idea of taking a shot with potential side effects simply because we can “schedule” it and expect to be wiped out that day doesn’t make sense for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Q&A on why US is an outlier in making all-age covid booster recommendations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-28/why-the-u-s-is-an-outlier-on-covid-boosters-for-kids

“CHOP's Offit: The goal of this vaccine is to prevent serious illness. That’s the goal. So the question then becomes: Who is getting seriously ill? That generally falls into four groups: the elderly, those who have high-risk medical conditions, people who are pregnant or people who are immunocompromised, and that’s why those countries make those recommendations. I think that the reason the U.S. broadly recommends boosters for children is because we think that a nuanced recommendation – meaning targeting high-risk groups – is a garbled recommendation, and the best way to get those high-risk groups vaccinated is to recommend the vaccine for everyone.”

Which is exactly why the messaging from pediatricians as seen on this thread differs. Your own pediatrician is basing things off your child and his or her risk factors for serious illness and not responsible for making generalized population level recommendations. My pediatrician stresses annual flu but left it to us if we wanted Covid vaccines since we were low risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Q&A on why US is an outlier in making all-age covid booster recommendations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-28/why-the-u-s-is-an-outlier-on-covid-boosters-for-kids

“CHOP's Offit: The goal of this vaccine is to prevent serious illness. That’s the goal. So the question then becomes: Who is getting seriously ill? That generally falls into four groups: the elderly, those who have high-risk medical conditions, people who are pregnant or people who are immunocompromised, and that’s why those countries make those recommendations. I think that the reason the U.S. broadly recommends boosters for children is because we think that a nuanced recommendation – meaning targeting high-risk groups – is a garbled recommendation, and the best way to get those high-risk groups vaccinated is to recommend the vaccine for everyone.”

Which is exactly why the messaging from pediatricians as seen on this thread differs. Your own pediatrician is basing things off your child and his or her risk factors for serious illness and not responsible for making generalized population level recommendations. My pediatrician stresses annual flu but left it to us if we wanted Covid vaccines since we were low risk.

My bet is that in most cases where people on this thread report that their pediatrician recommends boosting their child, it has NOTHING to do with the child's individual risk level, and the pediatrician is just blindly following the CDC recommendation, without actually looking at the data. Some doctors are just more comfortable than others thinking critically and looking beyond US borders to evaluate whether a recommendation makes sense or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To pp who says he would find new pediatrician if they recommended the Covid booster - that is ridiculous. The cdc recommends it so that pediatrician would just be doing their job! Not recommended it would actually go against professional guidelines. I'd be surprised by pediatricians at least not offering the vaccine.

I’m not the PP you’re responding to and I wouldn’t switch pediatricians, even though our teen boys haven’t gotten any boosters. But their pediatrician doesn’t carry the vaccine or recommend it to kids.

I am the PP who said I would find a new pediatrician if ours were "pushing" Covid boosters on my boys. Ours did actually offer boosters to us last year, but when I said that my kids had three shots and weren't getting any more, didn't bat an eye and moved on, and didn't bring it up again at this fall's physical.

I personally don't think they should even offer them because there is no evidence that benefits outweigh the risks, but I know they probably have to due to the CDC recommendation. I would only hold it against them if they insisted and showed that they truly believed it was a good idea.

Hmmm… why do you think the CDC recommends boosters? Do you think the doctors working there are more or less qualified to make recommendations as to infectious diseases than your local pediatrician?

Why doesn't anyone every grapple with the fact that NO OTHER PEER country recommends COVID boosters for kids/teens? Are we so sure only the US gets this right (and every other country/UK/Europe etc gets it wrong)?

Most other countries recommendations have nothing whatsoever to do with vaccine “risk” to young people, which is what most of the anti-vaxxers (who don’t want to be called anti-vaxxers) are arguing in this thread. Their recommendations have to do with cost and resource allocation.

We can afford it, so we recommend it. It’s that simple.

No. Europe contracted with Pfizer and agreed to purchase set amounts of covid vaccines, so they have already purchased them. Europe is throwing away billions of dollars of covid vaccines given their decision not to make continued broad-based covid vaccine recommendations. This has been politically controversial. It would have been easier to make broad based recommendations and put these unwanted doses into the arms of Europeans but they did not feel that was medically justified so they are throwing the doses away instead and taking the political lumps. https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-bonfire-covid-vaccines-coronavirus-waste-europe-analysis/

Germany does not recommend any covid vaccine for children -- boosters or primary series. "The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) currently recommends that babies, (young) children and adolescents without underlying conditions do not require a basic immunisation or booster against COVID-19 on account of the mostly mild courses of disease with a very low likelihood of needing hospitalisation." https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/en/coronavirus/faq-covid-19-vaccination.html

Thank you! That should put the "it's just because they can't afford it" argument to rest (which, by the way, is the height of American arrogance).

Amazes me how many Americans still believe they’re so rich when American cities look like wastelands

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No boosters. Original shot, yes.

Pediatrician doesn’t think it’s necessary for teen boys.

I am pro-vax but also pro-medical expertise. My kids’ pediatrician this year recommended the flu shot but not boosters. My kids were all vaxxed for COVID when it came out.

I didn’t ask about my teen - interesting the other pediatrician said it wasn’t necessary for teen boys.

[Anonymous]

There has been little uptake of the new covid booster in children and teens. In Virginia, only 2% of youth have taken the booster as of last week.
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/res...ginia/data/vaccines/

Virginia, % of age group to receive 2024-25 covid booster (as of 10/15/24)
All ages (6 mo+): 6.1%
0-4 years 1.6%
5-11 years 1.9%
12-17 years 2.1%
18-30 years 2.0%
31-49 years 3.8%
50-64 years 6.8%
65+ years 18.2%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There has been little uptake of the new covid booster in children and teens. In Virginia, only 2% of youth have taken the booster as of last week.
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/res...ginia/data/vaccines/

Virginia, % of age group to receive 2024-25 covid booster (as of 10/15/24)
All ages (6 mo+): 6.1%
0-4 years 1.6%
5-11 years 1.9%
12-17 years 2.1%
18-30 years 2.0%
31-49 years 3.8%
50-64 years 6.8%
65+ years 18.2%

There has been little uptake among anyone. 18.2% among the most vulnerable is not looking so good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been little uptake of the new covid booster in children and teens. In Virginia, only 2% of youth have taken the booster as of last week.
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/res...ginia/data/vaccines/

Virginia, % of age group to receive 2024-25 covid booster (as of 10/15/24)
All ages (6 mo+): 6.1%
0-4 years 1.6%
5-11 years 1.9%
12-17 years 2.1%
18-30 years 2.0%
31-49 years 3.8%
50-64 years 6.8%
65+ years 18.2%

There has been little uptake among anyone. 18.2% among the most vulnerable is not looking so good.

Yes. And nationwide, only 16% of nursing home patients, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable, have taken the new booster as of 10/13/24. Only 5% of nursing home staff have taken it.
https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/covid19/ltc-vaccination-dashboard.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Q&A on why US is an outlier in making all-age covid booster recommendations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-28/why-the-u-s-is-an-outlier-on-covid-boosters-for-kids

“CHOP's Offit: The goal of this vaccine is to prevent serious illness. That’s the goal. So the question then becomes: Who is getting seriously ill? That generally falls into four groups: the elderly, those who have high-risk medical conditions, people who are pregnant or people who are immunocompromised, and that’s why those countries make those recommendations. I think that the reason the U.S. broadly recommends boosters for children is because we think that a nuanced recommendation – meaning targeting high-risk groups – is a garbled recommendation, and the best way to get those high-risk groups vaccinated is to recommend the vaccine for everyone.”

Which is exactly why the messaging from pediatricians as seen on this thread differs. Your own pediatrician is basing things off your child and his or her risk factors for serious illness and not responsible for making generalized population level recommendations. My pediatrician stresses annual flu but left it to us if we wanted Covid vaccines since we were low risk.

My bet is that in most cases where people on this thread report that their pediatrician recommends boosting their child, it has NOTHING to do with the child's individual risk level, and the pediatrician is just blindly following the CDC recommendation, without actually looking at the data. Some doctors are just more comfortable than others thinking critically and looking beyond US borders to evaluate whether a recommendation makes sense or not.

This was the case for my teen son. He never got the original Covid shot and is certainly not getting any boosters. He is not in any high risk groups and there was zero reason for the ped to recommend it this year. She is just blindly following CDC recommendations and when I explained that we didn't want it, she was quick to back off.

Kind of like Meningitis B. The other Meningitis one (ACWY) makes sense for everyone, but the Men B doesn't necessarily need to be given universally to teens.

I wish our ped was willing to think about it more critically, but I understand that she is busy and it's safer for her to just go with CDC recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The covid booster is still under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for children 6 months - 11 years old; it does not have full FDA approval.
https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/coronavirus-covid-19-cber-regulated-biologics/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine

I think this is important to note.

And I also think it makes it even more unbelievable that some school districts had vaccine mandates for kids under the age of 11.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Q&A on why US is an outlier in making all-age covid booster recommendations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-28/why-the-u-s-is-an-outlier-on-covid-boosters-for-kids

“CHOP's Offit: The goal of this vaccine is to prevent serious illness. That’s the goal. So the question then becomes: Who is getting seriously ill? That generally falls into four groups: the elderly, those who have high-risk medical conditions, people who are pregnant or people who are immunocompromised, and that’s why those countries make those recommendations. I think that the reason the U.S. broadly recommends boosters for children is because we think that a nuanced recommendation – meaning targeting high-risk groups – is a garbled recommendation, and the best way to get those high-risk groups vaccinated is to recommend the vaccine for everyone.”

Which is exactly why the messaging from pediatricians as seen on this thread differs. Your own pediatrician is basing things off your child and his or her risk factors for serious illness and not responsible for making generalized population level recommendations. My pediatrician stresses annual flu but left it to us if we wanted Covid vaccines since we were low risk.

My bet is that in most cases where people on this thread report that their pediatrician recommends boosting their child, it has NOTHING to do with the child's individual risk level, and the pediatrician is just blindly following the CDC recommendation, without actually looking at the data. Some doctors are just more comfortable than others thinking critically and looking beyond US borders to evaluate whether a recommendation makes sense or not.

This was the case for my teen son. He never got the original Covid shot and is certainly not getting any boosters. He is not in any high risk groups and there was zero reason for the ped to recommend it this year. She is just blindly following CDC recommendations and when I explained that we didn't want it, she was quick to back off.

Kind of like Meningitis B. The other Meningitis one (ACWY) makes sense for everyone, but the Men B doesn't necessarily need to be given universally to teens.

I wish our ped was willing to think about it more critically, but I understand that she is busy and it's safer for her to just go with CDC recommendations.

The CDC has studied what motivates people to take covid vaccines and found that physician recommendation is one of the most critical factors. Therefore, the CDC urges doctors to recommend covid vaccines to patients. Last December's health advisory gave physicians talking points to use including: “You are due for your flu and COVID-19 vaccines today. I’ve gotten these vaccines myself and recommend them for you, too.” https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/han00503.asp The CDC also provides physicians with links to guides by the American Psychological Association on how to use motivational interviewing to increase covid vaccine uptake. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/engaging-patients.html

The CDC also offers talking points for all vaccines, including covid. Instead of saying "What do you want to do about shots?," the CDC recommends doctors say "Your child needs three shots today." CDC also recommends doctors say “"I believe in vaccines so strongly that I vaccinated my own children on schedule." and "This office has given thousands of doses of vaccines, and we have never seen a serious reaction."" https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines-children/hcp/conversation-tips/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been little uptake of the new covid booster in children and teens. In Virginia, only 2% of youth have taken the booster as of last week.
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/res...ginia/data/vaccines/

Virginia, % of age group to receive 2024-25 covid booster (as of 10/15/24)
All ages (6 mo+): 6.1%
0-4 years 1.6%
5-11 years 1.9%
12-17 years 2.1%
18-30 years 2.0%
31-49 years 3.8%
50-64 years 6.8%
65+ years 18.2%

There has been little uptake among anyone. 18.2% among the most vulnerable is not looking so good.

Yes. And nationwide, only 16% of nursing home patients, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable, have taken the new booster as of 10/13/24. Only 5% of nursing home staff have taken it.
https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/covid19/ltc-vaccination-dashboard.html

Interestingly, my aunt's physician isn't recommending it for her either, despite the fact that she is 95 and has COPD (from childhood TB). She is vaccinated and has never had Covid, but her doc says she doesn't need an updated booster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The covid booster is still under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for children 6 months - 11 years old; it does not have full FDA approval.
https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/coronavirus-covid-19-cber-regulated-biologics/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine

I think this is important to note.

And I also think it makes it even more unbelievable that some school districts had vaccine mandates for kids under the age of 11.

Which they had to withdraw without ever enforcing it because of low uptake especially in communities of color... I'll never forget how I was berated on this forum for questioning the wisdom of the DCPS mandate: "Give it up, lady! It's not all about you and your bubble!" Hello? My "bubble" is highly vaccinated, but it was clear that other parts of the city weren't as enthusiastic, and threatening to exclude those kids from school after more than a year of closures was obviously a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Q&A on why US is an outlier in making all-age covid booster recommendations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-28/why-the-u-s-is-an-outlier-on-covid-boosters-for-kids

“CHOP's Offit: The goal of this vaccine is to prevent serious illness. That’s the goal. So the question then becomes: Who is getting seriously ill? That generally falls into four groups: the elderly, those who have high-risk medical conditions, people who are pregnant or people who are immunocompromised, and that’s why those countries make those recommendations. I think that the reason the U.S. broadly recommends boosters for children is because we think that a nuanced recommendation – meaning targeting high-risk groups – is a garbled recommendation, and the best way to get those high-risk groups vaccinated is to recommend the vaccine for everyone.”

Which is exactly why the messaging from pediatricians as seen on this thread differs. Your own pediatrician is basing things off your child and his or her risk factors for serious illness and not responsible for making generalized population level recommendations. My pediatrician stresses annual flu but left it to us if we wanted Covid vaccines since we were low risk.

My bet is that in most cases where people on this thread report that their pediatrician recommends boosting their child, it has NOTHING to do with the child's individual risk level, and the pediatrician is just blindly following the CDC recommendation, without actually looking at the data. Some doctors are just more comfortable than others thinking critically and looking beyond US borders to evaluate whether a recommendation makes sense or not.

This was the case for my teen son. He never got the original Covid shot and is certainly not getting any boosters. He is not in any high risk groups and there was zero reason for the ped to recommend it this year. She is just blindly following CDC recommendations and when I explained that we didn't want it, she was quick to back off.

Kind of like Meningitis B. The other Meningitis one (ACWY) makes sense for everyone, but the Men B doesn't necessarily need to be given universally to teens.

I wish our ped was willing to think about it more critically, but I understand that she is busy and it's safer for her to just go with CDC recommendations.

The CDC has studied what motivates people to take covid vaccines and found that physician recommendation is one of the most critical factors. Therefore, the CDC urges doctors to recommend covid vaccines to patients. Last December's health advisory gave physicians talking points to use including: “You are due for your flu and COVID-19 vaccines today. I’ve gotten these vaccines myself and recommend them for you, too.” https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/han00503.asp The CDC also provides physicians with links to guides by the American Psychological Association on how to use motivational interviewing to increase covid vaccine uptake. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/engaging-patients.html

The CDC also offers talking points for all vaccines, including covid. Instead of saying "What do you want to do about shots?," the CDC recommends doctors say "Your child needs three shots today." CDC also recommends doctors say “"I believe in vaccines so strongly that I vaccinated my own children on schedule." and "This office has given thousands of doses of vaccines, and we have never seen a serious reaction."" https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines-children/hcp/conversation-tips/

Maybe instead of studying the best manipulation tactics, the US government should have invested in running proper trials to test the efficacy and risk/benefit profile of the Covid vaccines for children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Q&A on why US is an outlier in making all-age covid booster recommendations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-28/why-the-u-s-is-an-outlier-on-covid-boosters-for-kids

“CHOP's Offit: The goal of this vaccine is to prevent serious illness. That’s the goal. So the question then becomes: Who is getting seriously ill? That generally falls into four groups: the elderly, those who have high-risk medical conditions, people who are pregnant or people who are immunocompromised, and that’s why those countries make those recommendations. I think that the reason the U.S. broadly recommends boosters for children is because we think that a nuanced recommendation – meaning targeting high-risk groups – is a garbled recommendation, and the best way to get those high-risk groups vaccinated is to recommend the vaccine for everyone.”

Which is exactly why the messaging from pediatricians as seen on this thread differs. Your own pediatrician is basing things off your child and his or her risk factors for serious illness and not responsible for making generalized population level recommendations. My pediatrician stresses annual flu but left it to us if we wanted Covid vaccines since we were low risk.

My bet is that in most cases where people on this thread report that their pediatrician recommends boosting their child, it has NOTHING to do with the child's individual risk level, and the pediatrician is just blindly following the CDC recommendation, without actually looking at the data. Some doctors are just more comfortable than others thinking critically and looking beyond US borders to evaluate whether a recommendation makes sense or not.

This was the case for my teen son. He never got the original Covid shot and is certainly not getting any boosters. He is not in any high risk groups and there was zero reason for the ped to recommend it this year. She is just blindly following CDC recommendations and when I explained that we didn't want it, she was quick to back off.

Kind of like Meningitis B. The other Meningitis one (ACWY) makes sense for everyone, but the Men B doesn't necessarily need to be given universally to teens.

I wish our ped was willing to think about it more critically, but I understand that she is busy and it's safer for her to just go with CDC recommendations.

It may have been a pro forma question, which allowed her to mark in your DS's EHR that she had offered the covid vaccine and you declined it.