How to help your child have a positive COVID-19 vaccination visit
It’s done. You’ve booked COVID-19 vaccine appointments for your kids.
You’re relieved. Or, maybe you’re sweating - just a little bit.
What now?
Do you tell them in advance they’re getting a needle or do you lock down the information like it’s a matter of national security?
What should you say to prepare them? How do you tamp down any stress that may naturally arise - yours, or theirs?
Bribery? Is that a no-no?
CHILD-VACCINATION ROAD MAP
“I think it's very important to prepare the child before bringing them to their vaccination shot,” said Dr. Evelyne Trottier an emergency room doctor at Ste-Justine Hospital.
The information should be age-appropriate and the tone used should ideally communicate the facts without frightening a child or dismissing their concerns.
Two-thirds of children have a fear of needles, along with about a quarter of all adults, said Tottier.
About 5-10 per cent have a significant fear of needles which requires a specialized therapeutic approach offered by psychologists, to desensitize the child and help them overcome the phobia.
“It's important to address that before taking them to the vaccination appointment,” said the specialist.
Trottier, who co-leads a personal pain management group at the hospital called ‘tout doux’ also has a word of advice for the parents themselves - stay calm.
“When you feel stressed yourself, you can distribute this anxiety to your child," Trottier said, outlining her best overall advice, below, to help everyone get through the process.
EXPERT TIPS
- Explain why getting the vaccine is important so they can protect themselves and others. “It’s okay to do that,” Trottier said. “One of the reasons my own child wanted to get vaccinated was to see their grandparents.”
- Don’t assume or suggest the injection will be painful. Instead, tell the child they may feel little discomfort, or perhaps a pinch or some pressure. Not every child experiences pain from a needle or feels it in the same way.
- Don’t “minimize” the experience by saying “oh you’ll see, it will be nothing,” but do tell them it won’t take long to get it done.
- If you know they tend to find needles painful, you can apply a topical anesthetic cream, available at pharmacies
- Prepare them by showing them how they will need to sit up in the chair when they get their shot.
- Suggest the child bring a toy, a stuffed animal, a video game or a tablet so they can watch something they enjoy to help distract them.
- Offering to give them a treat as a reward after the injection is a fine idea, said Trottier, if it helps smooth the way.
Trottier suggests parents and guardians consult the following websites for more information:
The Ste-Justine Hospital’s tout-doux site.
THE VACCINE IS ‘AMAZINGLY’ EFFECTIVE
Infectious diseases specialists are fielding a lot of questions from parents right now about the vaccine, several doctors told CTV News.
Hesitant parents are asking, why is the vaccine necessary when children don’t usually get very sick?
Children have indeed had significantly lower rates of severe illness than adults, but it still happens and “hospitalization affects children's physical and mental health,” said Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious diseases specialist at the McGill University Health Centre.
“There’s also the possibility that those kids can go to the ICU and die. So despite the fact that it’s a rare event, if we can prevent it from happening we should and the best way to do that is with the vaccine,” said Vinh.
How effective is the vaccine in children under 12?
The vaccine works “amazingly well,” in children, said Vinh, who cited recent data published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing “the vaccine had a protective efficacy of over 90 per cent.”
That means children aged 5-11 who get the vaccine have a 90 per cent lower risk of getting COVID and “protection essentially starts at the second dose,” he said.
Not only will it help protect the younger children against acute forms of the disease, but it will also shield them from long COVID complications.
Is the vaccine safe for this age group?
In the last two weeks, more than 2.7 million children in this age group in the United States have gotten their first dose and so far there hasn't been one report of a severe reaction, according to Vinh.
“That is really encouraging,” and reflects the results of clinical studies that compared children who got the vaccine to those who got a placebo.
Those who got the vaccine ”had the same side effects and at the same rate as those who didn’t get the vaccine,” he said.
Any side effects that did materialize were of the normal variety and included some pain or redness at the injection site. Some had fever and headaches and chills and fatigue “but again it was the same rate between those who got the vaccine and those who didn’t,” said Vinh.
If my child is almost 12-years-old, should they wait until their birthday and get the full dose instead?
Health Canada has determined children aged 5-11 will receive a smaller dosage of Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose vaccine (10 mcg) than older kids and adults.
However, children who receive the smaller dose first and have turned 12 years old by the time the second dose is due “may receive” the full dose (30 mcg) that’s authorized for everyone aged 12 and older, according to Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI).
NACI is recommending eight weeks or more between the first and second doses
If the just-turned 12-year-old child does get a second shot containing the reduced dose, NACI said they will still be considered fully vaccinated.
Can my child get a flu shot at the same time as the COVID vaccine?
As a precaution, NACI recommended the COVID and the influenza vaccines are administered two weeks apart for now, “just to err on the side of caution and to keep any monitoring of any potential safety issues,” explained Vinh.
However, the immunologist points to yet more studies that looked at this question in adults.
They showed that regardless of whether the two vaccines were co-administered or given weeks apart, “other than pain at the injection site and fatigue there were no serious reactions,” indicating, he said, that the double shot is safe and still effective.
Vaccines are regularly co-administered to children, for example, the MMRV vaccine (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella), and frequently, the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) and Hepatitis vaccines.
“It just means we have to use different shoulders to avoid any major pain at the injection site,” said Vinh.
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