COVID-19 shots are now part of the program

In some ways, an annual COVID-19 booster for children can be considered the same as an annual flu shot.

Just like the flu, COVID-19 can mutate into new variants from year to year.

“[This addition] is important because antibodies wane over time and you need to maintain protection, and as new variants emerge you maintain coverage against them,” Dr. John Christensonthe associate medical director of infectious diseases at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, told Healthline,

While COVID-19 reminders were already recommended, the new timeline moves them from a footnote to a more prominent position.

Dr. Richard Chung, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina, told Healthline, “Adding these vaccines more formally to the schedule will ensure that families and healthcare providers periodically reassess the children’s immune status and keep them up to date. – dated and protected. COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be among the most effective and safest vaccines available for all vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Adding the vaccine to the routine schedule will help standardize COVID-19 vaccines as a typical part of our broader immunization strategy to protect children from all vaccine-preventable diseases,” Chung said.

“The ability to not just treat infections, but prevent them in the first place is an incredible privilege and we urge families to take the opportunity to get vaccinated,” he added.

All medical treatments – including vaccinations – carry some level of risk, but experts agree that the timing of childhood vaccinations is well understood and that the small risks that exist are far outweighed by the benefits.

“Available COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effectively prevent the low risk of serious infection in children. Each vaccinated child also helps protect their parents, grandparents and older family members, with minimal risk to themselves,” Dr. Thomas Silvathe pediatric medical director of the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, told Healthline.

The recommended schedule sometimes includes multiple vaccinations at once, but that too has been studied and found to be safe, experts said.

“Parents shouldn’t worry about overloading their children’s immune systems, as children are naturally exposed to germs throughout their social lives. Vaccinations are just one more tool to protect our children throughout their youth,” Dr Ilan Shapiro, FACHE, chief health correspondent and chief medical affairs officer at AltaMed Health Services in Los Angeles, told Healthline.

“As a father, I want to give my children the best tools to focus on their education and their friendships. I can give them the healthiest life by vaccinating them against adolescent diseases like measles, mumps, polio, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and COVID-19,” he added.

Some caregivers might consider changing the vaccination schedule to space it out longer, but experts generally don’t recommend this.

“The spread of vaccines has not been studied to ensure that the desired immune benefits always occur and no additional safety benefits have been demonstrated. As such, it is best to stick to the schedule,” said Chung said.

“Caregivers should not consider spreading vaccinations over a longer period of time. Delaying vaccinations delays protection,” Silva said.

“That being said, children with HIV infection, current cancer, or other severe immune deficiencies, who are being monitored by specialists, may need to follow a specific and separate schedule for certain vaccines, as outlined by their doctor,” he added.

“Each year, the American Academy of Pediatrics, [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], and the American Academy of Family Physicians publish updated vaccination schedules, usually in January. One of these schedules covers off-schedule children and is used for catch-up vaccinations. It’s never too late to immunize a child or adult who is missing vaccines,” Christenson said.