12-15 year olds vaccine experiences

[Katy]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abc7ny.com/amp/covid-vaccine-india-coronavirus-charges/10572704/

This was on my local news, this is the first article that popped up on Google. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by Katy

[*Jessica*]

You just made my day!

[historically accurate]

2 minutes ago, StillJessica said:

You just made my day!

And mine! 

[ScoutTN]

Hooray!!!

[MercyA]

Oh, praise the Lord!!!!!!!

[purpleowl]

My 12yo is THRILLED about this!

[Noreen Claire]

This is good news. My DS12 will be happy to go back to basketball in the winter fully-vaccinated. This past winter was very long without a team sport.

[mommyoffive]

Yay.  I can't wait to get some of my kids vaccinated. 

[Starr]

So exciting!

 

[Storygirl]

I'm very happy! DD15 is the only member of our household who has not been able to get vaccinated, and she is the one who is itching the most to be able to socialize with her friends, who are having gatherings without her.

[HeartString]

Any idea on the safety data?  I've seen reports that the vaccine works well in that age group but haven't seen any safety data.

 

[SKL]

I hope someone starts a thread regarding side effects etc. (personal experience) seen in teens.  We should already have some 16-19 and will gradually get some younger ones.

[Katy]

13 minutes ago, HeartString said:

Any idea on the safety data?  I've seen reports that the vaccine works well in that age group but haven't seen any safety data.

 

It’s not released yet, but I’m sure it will be. 

[HeartString]

3 minutes ago, SKL said:

I hope someone starts a thread regarding side effects etc. (personal experience) seen in teens.  We should already have some 16-19 and will gradually get some younger ones.

That would be helpful.  I had no problem getting the vaccine for myself or my husband, but helping my 19 year old make his appointment gave me a moment of anxiety.  He got it and its fine, but the younger kids make me nervous for no good logical reason.  Maybe because the 12-15s don't get as sick?  Like I said, not logical.  It just feels different giving my kids something so new, where I had no problem sticking my own arm out.

[Syllieann]

13 minutes ago, HeartString said:

Any idea on the safety data?  I've seen reports that the vaccine works well in that age group but haven't seen any safety data.

 

I haven't seen it yet, but they only enrolled about 2200 kids, presumably half are placebo.  Hopefully they will separate the subgroup out by age in vaers.

[HeartString]

Just now, Syllieann said:

I haven't seen it yet, but they only enrolled about 2200 kids, presumably half are placebo.  Hopefully they will separate the subgroup out by age in vaers.

Why so small?  That really makes me lean more towards waiting a few months to see what comes out before we get it for the younger one.  I'm thinking as long as we get it done before co-op in Sept.

[SKL]

Just now, HeartString said:

That would be helpful.  I had no problem getting the vaccine for myself or my husband, but helping my 19 year old make his appointment gave me a moment of anxiety.  He got it and its fine, but the younger kids make me nervous for no good logical reason.  Maybe because the 12-15s don't get as sick?  Like I said, not logical.  It just feels different giving my kids something so new, where I had no problem sticking my own arm out.

Right, I just need more good information.  I know there will still be unknowns, but I can live with that up to a point.  Plus, at least one of my kids really wants to get the vax.  So if real-life 16yos have reasonably good results, I could get on board with my 14yos getting it pretty soon.

[Soror]

Ya! Dd will def be able to be vaccinated before school this fall, that is very good news. They have been in person all year with masks but I'm betting there will be no mask rules next year. 

[Dmmetler]

I am so excited-this will mean that my 16 yr old should be able to have relatively normal, unmasked, in person friend contact this summer, because while a decent number of kids in our homeschool circle are below 16, none are below 12. 

 

 

[maize]

Oh hurray!

[Acadie]

11 minutes ago, HeartString said:

That would be helpful.  I had no problem getting the vaccine for myself or my husband, but helping my 19 year old make his appointment gave me a moment of anxiety.  He got it and its fine, but the younger kids make me nervous for no good logical reason.  Maybe because the 12-15s don't get as sick?  Like I said, not logical.  It just feels different giving my kids something so new, where I had no problem sticking my own arm out.

I don't think it's illogical to do a separate risk-benefit calculation for our kids--they have their whole lives and reproductive years ahead of them. A friend of mine who is a doc and heads the Covid unit in her hospital told me last summer that personally she would get any vaccine as soon as it was available because of her Covid exposure at work, but for her teens she wanted to wait and see on the new mRNA technology, and might prefer an older vaccine technology for them. 

This winter, dd18 had the chance to get a Pfizer vaccine because she works at a school, and I checked back in with my friend to see if her thinking had changed at all about mRNA vaccines for her teens. She said one of her girls was eligible before her peers because of a medical issue, and that she registered her for Pfizer because she was thrilled with all the safety data that had come out so far. 

That reassured me and dd18 got her Pfizer shot, even though I would have preferred J&J at the time, if it had been available. But with the clotting issues that emerged later with J&J, I'm really glad dd18 got Pfizer, and plan to register dd15 when it's available. At this point, knowing more about the risks of Covid and various vaccines, I feel comfortable that the risk-benefit ratio makes sense for us, between many months of safety data on Pfizer in adults and more recent data with 16+.

 

[Dmmetler]

I started a thread on vaccine experiences for teens, to crowd source more information. I know here getting the vaccine has done wonders for my kid's emotional health. I don't think I had realized just how intense the fear of infecting others unknowingly was for her until it started to lift. 

[catz]

My 16 year old is fully vaxed as of last Thursday and is THRILLED!  We've been doing a spontaneous Pfizer dance around the house.  😂  She has gotten a couple offers of in person stuff this summer and now we can happily let her do them!  I am so excited! DH  and I get our 2nd next week.

I am so happy to read this even though I don't have a child in this age range anymore!  Will help many of our friend's families and communities for sure!  I've been following the data closely too.   Go science!  ❤️   

[Not_a_Number]

Oh, that is very exciting. I'm so glad to hear. 

My kids are too little for this phase, but this seems like it makes the next phase likely to be sooner. 

[mom2scouts]

Yay! That will allow everyone in my house to be vaxxed!

[Elizabeth86]

That's wonderful news! I wonder what the percentages for this age bracket to get vaccinated will look like? 

[mlktwins]

Is this the same vaccine as currently being given to 16 and over?  My boys aren't 16 until the end of June, but could get it sooner this way.

Edited May 3, 2021 by mlktwins

[Xahm]

All my kids are too young, but I'm happy for the rest of y'all as well as for the general health of the country and beating this plague.

[Penelope]

12 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

That's wonderful news! I wonder what the percentages for this age bracket to get vaccinated will look like? 

I wonder, too. It might actually be better than for the 18-29 year olds who aren’t getting it in large numbers (yet), because parents will have a say for the 12-17 year olds. 

[SKL]

55 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

I started a thread on vaccine experiences for teens, to crowd source more information. I know here getting the vaccine has done wonders for my kid's emotional health. I don't think I had realized just how intense the fear of infecting others unknowingly was for her until it started to lift. 

My eldest is similar.  She has been begging to get this shot ASAP.  My youngest may need some convincing ....

[SKL]

16 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

That's wonderful news! I wonder what the percentages for this age bracket to get vaccinated will look like? 

I think it may be higher than some expect.  Personally, my kid has been in quarantine for 2 weeks because someone she sits near at school had Covid.  For every 1 kid who had Covid around that time, about 8 kids had to be out of school for 2 weeks.  And while it's not the end of the world, it could start all over again the day after my kid returns to school, if another kid she sits near happens to get Covid.  Having to cross everything off our calendar for not even being sick is the pits.  Having to make up state tests and ending up 2.5 weeks behind the class on in-person instruction isn't great either.  We welcome a likely end to this uncertainty.

[Elizabeth86]

20 minutes ago, SKL said:

I think it may be higher than some expect.  Personally, my kid has been in quarantine for 2 weeks because someone she sits near at school had Covid.  For every 1 kid who had Covid around that time, about 8 kids had to be out of school for 2 weeks.  And while it's not the end of the world, it could start all over again the day after my kid returns to school, if another kid she sits near happens to get Covid.  Having to cross everything off our calendar for not even being sick is the pits.  Having to make up state tests and ending up 2.5 weeks behind the class on in-person instruction isn't great either.  We welcome a likely end to this uncertainty.

Right.  I was seeing somewhere that in some survey that parents were more on board with getting their children vaccinated than they were themselves.  I don't have children in this age bracket, but I'm curious to see how it goes.  

[Not_a_Number]

28 minutes ago, SKL said:

I think it may be higher than some expect.  Personally, my kid has been in quarantine for 2 weeks because someone she sits near at school had Covid.  For every 1 kid who had Covid around that time, about 8 kids had to be out of school for 2 weeks.  And while it's not the end of the world, it could start all over again the day after my kid returns to school, if another kid she sits near happens to get Covid.  Having to cross everything off our calendar for not even being sick is the pits.  Having to make up state tests and ending up 2.5 weeks behind the class on in-person instruction isn't great either.  We welcome a likely end to this uncertainty.

I hope you're right that the rates are high! 

[Syllieann]

51 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

Is this the same vaccine as currently being given to 16 and over?  My boys aren't 16 until the end of June, but could get it sooner this way.

Yes, same dosage and everything.

[Dmmetler]

8 minutes ago, Syllieann said:

Yes, same dosage and everything.

Which is good, because hopefully as soon as the approval is through, it will be possible to start vaccinating younger teens. It won't help much for this school year, but it should be really helpful for summer and fall. 

[rebcoola]

Wahoo!!! Shots are freely available here and they have been doing clinics at high schools already so hopefully my big kids will be vaxxed very soon. 

[73349]

Huzzah! My 13yo needs this!

[sangtarah]

I'm so excited to have my almost 12 year old protected! She's our highest risk child. Our 15 year old will be happy to get back to activities, too!

[Lecka]

Yes!  I have two 12-year-olds 🙂. 
 

They both do well with shots, too.  My older son is my only one who does not like shots, so I have no concerns at this point. 
 

And maybe my older son has turned a corner and will be okay with shots going forward!  He did do well with the  first Pfizer shot and had been expecting it to be worse — it surprised him that he thought it was not a big deal 🙂. 
 

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Lecka

[Loowit]

This is great news.  I will need to contact DS's allergist to get his take on getting him the vaccine.  It would be nice if all of us were fully vaccinated.

[Lawyer&Mom]

Okay, now let’s do 6-12!  

[Terabith]

4 hours ago, mlktwins said:

Is this the same vaccine as currently being given to 16 and over?  My boys aren't 16 until the end of June, but could get it sooner this way.

It is the same vaccine as for 16 plus.  I think the anticipation is it will be longer for under 12's because they probably will need a lower dosage/ different vaccine, and that hasn't been really worked out yet.  At least that was my understanding of the reading.  

[Shoeless]

This is amazing. Kiddo was asking 2 days ago if there was any news on vaccines for his age group. Once he is vaccinated, we may be able to visit my family in Chicago again! 

[Drama Llama]

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Edited May 8, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Tenaj]

I was relaying this news my 11yo, 13yo and 15yo this morning.  I looked at my youngest and told her that meant that she would be the only one unvaccinated at our house but since she turns 12 early in September it wouldn't be a long wait.  She looked sad and then said ( with an eye roll), "Mom, you know that as soon as I turn 12, they'll lower the age to 11 or younger anyway!". It made me laugh.  

I was surprised that they were all three so enthusiastic about the idea of two shots!

[JennyD]

From Channel 7's mouth to G-d's ears!  Boy, I hope this timeline is correct. 

I just called to try and schedule DS15's appointment for his 16th birthday in a few weeks but it was too early. It would be beyond fabulous if DS13 could get vaccinated soon, too.

I must say, as enthusiastic as i am about these mRNA vaccines, normally i would not be first in line to get my kids a brand-new vaccine authorized only for emergency use.  A year ago I had some hope that maybe if a particularly effective vaccine was developed we'd have enough uptake among adults that we'd crush the virus and kids might not even need to get vaccinated.  But as it stands the choice seems quite clear -- either they get vaccinated or sometime soon they will get infected with SARS-COV-2 with a naive immune system.  So vaccines for everyone it is!

Edited May 3, 2021 by JennyD

[MrsMommy]

My 14 and 15 year olds are so excited about this, especially since my two oldest (and myself) received our second dose today. That will just leave my nine-year-old, but I'm trying not to have any expectation about when there might be a vaccine approved for her.

[Drama Llama]

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Edited May 8, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Katy]

12 minutes ago, JennyD said:

From Channel 7's mouth to G-d's ears!  Boy, I hope this timeline is correct. 

I just called to try and schedule DS15's appointment for his 16th birthday in a few weeks but it was too early. It would be beyond fabulous if DS13 could get vaccinated soon, too.

I must say, as enthusiastic as i am about these mRNA vaccines, normally i would not be first in line to get my kids a brand-new vaccine authorized only for emergency use.  A year ago I had some hope that maybe if a particularly effective vaccine was developed we'd have enough uptake among adults that we'd crush the virus and kids might not even need to get vaccinated.  But as it stands the choice seems quite clear -- either they get vaccinated or sometime soon they will get infected with SARS-COV-2 with a naive immune system.  So vaccines for everyone it is!

If it helps I read a pretty compelling argument on a Reddit anti q-anon board that said the only way they came out with these vaccines so fast is that they’ve been studying how since SARS 20 years ago…. So the science is 20+ years in the making, not less than 2.  

[Drama Llama]

5 minutes ago, Katy said:

If it helps I read a pretty compelling argument on a Reddit anti q-anon board that said the only way they came out with these vaccines so fast is that they’ve been studying how since SARS 20 years ago…. So the science is 20+ years in the making, not less than 2.  

Well, and also scientists were working with these technologies on other vaccines.  I know someone who was working on an RSV vaccine, and then was moved to working on a Covid vaccine using the same technology.