Idaho health professionals encourage vaccination for children aged 5-11 as vaccine rollout continues.
Pediatric Physician Summer Day said that Gritman saw an enthusiastic response to a vaccine clinic held in November with over 450 sign-ups in the first six hours. The clinic saw a significant number of vaccinations administered in the 5-11 age range, a change that she attributed to the increase in pediatric cases over the past few months as the Delta variant has swept through Idaho.
Though children are at a comparatively lower risk of severe illness from COVID-19, Day said nationwide, there have been a number of instances of children requiring hospitalization after contracting COVID-19.
“We’ve still seen thousands of cases of heart inflammation from illness (and), in the 5-11-year-old group, over 100 deaths,” Day said. “There are a lot of childhood vaccines we do (for viruses) that have a lower mortality rate than COVID-19 and we do that because any pediatric death for me is significant. And it’s not just death. There’s a lot of unknowns that come with the COVID infection that could be causing more long-term problems in kids.”
Besides strictly medical factors, Day said that vaccinating children from COVID-19 also reduces the potential for disruptions in schooling and makes children better able to return to the more normal functions of their daily life.
With a low number of children in the community, Day said that Moscow has only seen a limited number of children admitted for COVID-19, with most cases being related to chronic respiratory conditions like asthma.
With the winter season already in full swing, Day recommended that parents vaccinate their children from COVID-19 and the flu.
“What we’re seeing around the country with hospitalization data and children is that those with multiple viral illnesses are doing much worse,” Day said. “Getting COVID and getting RSV or getting COVID and getting the flu seems to be more of a problem than just getting one or the other.”
Due to the strain on medical resources, Day said that hospitalization in Moscow can be more complicated than one might expect.
“A hospitalization in Moscow can often mean being put in a helicopter and sent to another state,” Day said. “It’s not as simple as being hospitalized when you’re in an area (without) a big children’s hospital.”
Among older children, Day said that the earlier stages of the pandemic saw multiple cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome that had to be life-flighted away from Moscow for treatment. Overall, the recommendation was to get vaccinated, for younger children, older children and adults.
“I have not seen any significant reactions or hospitalizations from the vaccine, whereas I’ve seen lots of medical problems and complications from COVID in all ages of children,” Day said.
Mike Larson, division administrator at Public Health – Idaho North Central District, said the UI students should be working to get vaccinated if they can and engage in safe masking and distancing practices to avoid contracting the virus.
Larson said that while being young and healthy brings a lesser likelihood of suffering the worse effects of COVID-19, it doesn’t preclude someone from having a serious case. Larson, like Day, also highlighted the lack of understanding surrounding the long-term effects of COVID-19.
“We’re hearing more and more about people that have the long-haul syndrome or have chronic lung issues after they’ve had a severe case,” Larson said. “Some people even have some cardiac-related issues that can linger, so even though it’s rare that can happen and just because it’s rare for it to occur doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.”
Larson said that people of various ages continue to arrive at hospitals throughout the state seeking treatment from COVID-19, and vaccines continue to be the best defense for protecting yourself and others as well as healthcare professionals.
“As much as we all want to be over COVID and be done with it, we’re not quite there yet,” Larson said. “So it’s a good time to remember to do what we can to try and get it to slow down faster.”
Royce McCandless can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @roycemccandless