Vaccinating Ages 5-11, Question for Parents

[Dianthus]

Curious on people vaccinating their kids. I know many who have vaccinated over 12, but not many vaccinating younger children. 

*Only looking for votes from parents of young children.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Spirea

[Lawyer&Mom]

Hell yes I vaccinated my 5-11 year old kids.  As soon as I could get an appointment.  They had very mild infections back in March of 2020, but this virus is a beast, I don’t trust it, and I want to educate my kids immune system about covid as much as I can before they 1) hit puberty and become more vulnerable 2) a new variant hits kids harder. 
 

(Just for context, in my zip code, 73.4% of 5-11 year olds have received both shots.)

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Lawyer&Mom

[thewellerman]

Nm

Edited January 8, 2022 by thewellerman
Remove personal info

[Drama Llama]

Yes, without hesitation.

[Ausmumof3]

I plan to, but it’s not available here till Monday. I have the first appointment I could get booked.

[Carrie12345]

I was online before appointments even opened up and grabbed the first one I could as soon as they were.

 

[ktgrok]

My 9 and 11 yr old were vaccinated the first week they could be - I would have done the first day but since my kids didn't have much exposure I figured better to let others grab those busy weekend slots and we went midweek while most kids were in school. Less exposure for my kids, plus let others who need it more get vaccinated first. But it was still within days of the approval. 

My 4 yr old can't wait to be vaccinated, we will do it probably the day after she turns 5. (just in case she has side effects don't want to do it ON her birthday - although she may insist we do!)

I know a LOT of kids in that age range who were vaccinated, none had any issues. 

[HomeAgain]

Ds11 was vaccinated as soon as we found an appointment - and that meant driving over an hour to get to a health clinic willing to vaccinate children.  His second one was done a lot closer to home, which was good, but he also had an allergic reaction to the vaccine (full body swelling with hives) and ended up on steroids and Zyrtec for 10 days after, and then had swollen lymph nodes after he was weaned off the steroids.

I ABSOLUTELY would vaccinate him again, even knowing what we know now.  100%.  Because it was more dangerous for him to be unvaccinated and long covid is something I absolutely would want to reduce the chance of him getting.  He tends to get very sick if he gets sick, so anything is worth reducing that chance.  I'm really hoping, though, that when he is up for a booster at age 12, J&J is an authorized option for him, because our choices right now are to not give him a booster or give him the booster at his doctor's office so he can be fully monitored, and they aren't doing them at the moment.  So neither is optimal or fully feasible.

Every other kid I know who has gotten the vaccine has done just fine, mostly just sore arms for a day or two after.  The 6-7yos were especially vocal, lol, and got a chance to all complain together about their arms after Christmas break.

[Katy]

Yes. Any concerns about vaccines pale in comparison to my concerns about the actual virus.

[Eilonwy]

Yes, we got both of them (10 and 7) vaccinated within the first two weeks it was available. Their second dose isn’t due quite yet but they’ll get that too as soon as it comes up.  One kid was a bit off for a day and they both had sore arms, but no serious reactions. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Eilonwy

[mommyoffive]

My kids that age got it the first day it was available!!!  They wanted to do it asap as much as I wanted to.   All 5 of my kids got the vaccine asap.  My kids that are 12 and older are also boosted.  

[wendyroo]

Yes, I got my 6, 8, and 10 year olds vaccinated the first day it was available. They then got their second dose right on schedule.

There was never a chance I was not going to have them vaccinated (my husband and I are both double vaccinated and boosted, my 12 year old is double vaccinated and is scheduled to be boosted now that it has been approved for his age), but for what it is worth, the younger kids were all gung-ho about getting the shots. They wanted to be protected and to improve safety for their grandparents and others they interact with.

All of my kids had seen the after effects of my second shot (3 days of absolute wretchedness), and were therefore nervous about how they would be effected, but they had also seen me troop in and get my booster fully aware of how miserable it might make me, so they knew how highly we valued vaccination in spite of temporary side effects. In the end, none of my kids had any reaction to either of their shots beyond a very mildly sore arm the next day. They will get booster shots as soon as they are recommended...just as the older members of the family will also continue to get all vaccinations and boosters as recommended.

[Spryte]

Yes, the first day shots were available for her age group.

[Junie]

Yes, we got dd11 vaccinated.  She was 2 weeks post second shot just a few days before the college kids came home.  And then we got Covid.  Symptoms started showing up between Christmas and New Year's.  Her symptoms were really, really minimal.  She had a sore throat and a headache for just a day or two.  I'm so thankful that she was vaccinated!

[Ting Tang]

I read a quote that 16% were vaccinated and that the rollout would be slow.  I canceled a clinic appointment that allowed walkins and scheduled private appointments at the health department.  But to be honest, I am very nervous and am still not sure I can go through with it.  I worry my children will be rare outliers with adverse effects or some mysterious problem from them will in fact arise later on, even if there doesn't seem to be a reason that even could happen down the road.  I really wish we had the Novavax option for them, but even when it gets approved for adults, it seems it will be some time before it gets approved for kids.  Also, it is a process.  I do have somewhat of a luxury to go back and forth because they are very sheltered right now.  ** we adults are vaxxed---my husband won't, but I will likely continue on my course of getting boosters as long as it seems pointed and purposeful. The response so far to your survey is not representative of the general population.  I am very worried about the effects of the virus, even mild cases.  I feel very torn and have a lot of anxiety over all of this. To be fair, I have felt anxiety over my shots, perhaps irrational, but it is easier to choose for myself than for my children.  

Edited January 8, 2022 by KrisTom

[Insertcreativenamehere]

My 9 yo was vaccinated the day after his age group became eligible at the earliest possible appointment I could find. 

He has an immune deficiency, developmental delays and a past history of severe, life-threatening respiratory issues. He has been on a vent for RSV and pneumonia several other times. I don't ever want to experience that again. 

[JustEm]

Yes, and they had no issues with the shots at all.  ds who just turned 5 is eager to get his. Sadly, we have covid right now so he is going to have to wait.  Of all the kids in the house who have covid the two unvaccinated kids have it the worse.  The other kids had a fever and cough for a day.  The unvaccinated kids have been sick longer and although their fevers are finally gone their coughs are slower to go away,

[Dianthus]

When the vaccine was first available in Nov, our friend who is a Dr and has similar age kids said he was waiting a month to see if there were reactions before vaxxing his kids. He said in the last 20 yrs there was an RSV and a flu shot that were bad. We thought we would follow his lead. Then our pediatrician was going to have the vax for her office, so I was waiting for it so it would be nice and tidy on their records. I never heard from them and finally called and had completely missed their vax clinics. Then I called every other clinic and they either didn't do the young kids or were booking out until February. I didn't want to go to Walmart or similar. If my allergic kid has a reaction, I want him near a Dr or hospital.  Got appointments at a public health clinic and both ds7 and ds10 had their first shot yesterday, but then I felt so panicked that i was making a mistake and kept thinking, I don't know anyone vaxxing their young kids. We had no allergic reactions. Both kids have a slightly sore arm, though dd12 (fully vaxxed awhile ago) didn't even have that. Now, I'll be stressed for the next 5 weeks until fully vaxxed. We have been careful and avoided covid but our numbers are crazy right now and so many people are unmasked.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Spirea

[desertflower]

Yes, my 11 and 9 yo are vaxxed. 
 

when we thought we had covid right before lockdown, my then 7 yo had a 103.5 fever. The one and only time any of my kids ever had that high of a fever. I never want to experience that again. 

[Ali in OR]

Even for people who were a bit nervous when the shots came out, the evidence FOR shots is just mounting. I would not hesitate. Off the top of my head:

-hospitalizations for children right now are high and increasing, and more so for unvaccinated kids
-even if the outcome for children is usually good, usually no vent, having a kid in the hospital is so difficult, stressful, and expensive. Avoid it if at all possible.
-just heard that kids who have had Covid have a higher rate of getting diabetes than kids who haven't (I think other viruses can also trigger that)
-I have a student with long Covid. Life altering. Avoid it.
-My coworker's daughter's pre-K classroom is quarantined for 10 days causing extreme disruption to the parents' work schedules. Like my coworker is thinking she might need to take a leave of absence if it happens again. The child is too young to be vaccinated and that lengthens the quarantine time.

[Spryte]

32 minutes ago, Spirea said:

When the vaccine was first available in Nov, our friend who is a Dr and has similar age kids said he was waiting a month to see if there were reactions before vaxxing his kids. He said in the last 20 yrs there was an RSV and a flu shot that were bad. We thought we would follow his lead. Then our pediatrician was going to have the vax for her office, so I was waiting for it so it would be nice and tidy on their records. I never heard from them and finally called and had completely missed their vax clinics. Then I called every other clinic and they either didn't do the young kids or were booking out until February. I didn't want to go to Walmart or similar. If my allergic kid has a reaction, I want him near a Dr or hospital.  Got appointments at a public health clinic and both ds7 and ds10 had their first shot yesterday, but then I felt so panicked that i was making a mistake and kept thinking, I don't know anyone vaxxing their young kids. We had no allergic reactions. Both kids have a slightly sore arm, though dd12 (fully vaxxed awhile ago) didn't even have that. Now, I'll be stressed for the next 5 weeks until fully vaxxed. We have been careful and avoided covid but our numbers are crazy right now and so many people are unmasked.

Glad you found shots!

If it makes you feel better, we all did great here. Two kids with multiple life threatening allergies (one of them has soooo many, it’s honestly hard to list them all, meds included), and I have a history of vaccine reactions and multiple med allergies. We were so nervous. My anxiety was sky high. But no reactions. Whew! 

We did book a telehealth appt with our allergist and discuss ahead of time, so that helped ease the fears.

I’m happy you didn’t have reactions either!

[AmandaVT]

DS is older, but in my school, more than 75% of our 5th and 6th graders are vaccinated now. (kids that aren't vaxxed have to quarantine at home for 5 days if there's a positive case in their class) Also, my 6 &7 year old niece and nephew were vaxxed at the first opportunity and did fine with both. 

[Arcadia]

47 minutes ago, Spirea said:

When the vaccine was first available in Nov, our friend who is a Dr and has similar age kids said he was waiting a month to see if there were reactions before vaxxing his kids.

My brother waited until school holidays for his 10 year old daughter (only child) because the child dosage is lower and there were children getting wrong dosages in the news in the first week of the rollout. After a month, the nurses doing the vaccination are much more familiar with dosage. She is getting her second dose end of this month. 

For them it was an easy decision as they have two tenants who can’t work from home (they need the rental income) and my brother works as a security guard while my niece goes to public school. His wife walks her to and from school. 

[Lady Florida.]

I didn't answer the poll because they're not my kids but our 9 and 7 yo grandsons are vaccinated. They got their second dose Dec. 11th so are fully vaccinated. Dss and ddil are a firefighter/paramedic and nurse respectively. They didn't hesitate to vaccinate themselves, then the boys, and are hoping it will be approved for the 3yo girl soon as well. 

[HomeAgain]

2 hours ago, KrisTom said:

I read a quote that 16% were vaccinated and that the rollout would be slow.  I canceled a clinic appointment that allowed walkins and scheduled private appointments at the health department.  But to be honest, I am very nervous and am still not sure I can go through with it.  I worry my children will be rare outliers with adverse effects or some mysterious problem from them will in fact arise later on, even if there doesn't seem to be a reason that even could happen down the road.  I really wish we had the Novavax option for them, but even when it gets approved for adults, it seems it will be some time before it gets approved for kids.  Also, it is a process.  I do have somewhat of a luxury to go back and forth because they are very sheltered right now.  ** we adults are vaxxed---my husband won't, but I will likely continue on my course of getting boosters as long as it seems pointed and purposeful. The response so far to your survey is not representative of the general population.  I am very worried about the effects of the virus, even mild cases.  I feel very torn and have a lot of anxiety over all of this. To be fair, I have felt anxiety over my shots, perhaps irrational, but it is easier to choose for myself than for my children.  

Statistically, what are the comparative chances of adverse effects from getting the virus?  And since your dh is not vaxxed, and you being vaxxed helps lessen the results for you, are the kids sheltered enough to remain safe from those chances?

[DreamerGirl]

Yes, DD5 was vaccinated as soon as we could.

There is a large gap between DS14 and her and we chose to HS her instead of send her to PS. DH and I work from home. But DS wanted to go back to PS and it has been a hard thing to keep her safe.

To be bluntly honest, I am always concerned about vaccine side effects and also know that it is not always 100% efficient.  I have seen the polio vaccine that has been around for decades rebound and cause a form of vaccine polio.

But I have also seen the effects of mass, government mandated and targeted vaccine drive on a densely packed population in my country of origin and how extremely beneficial it is. In my family of origin, TB played havoc in my grandparents generation with several parents with young children dying. My barely educated grandmother was a proponent of vaccines long before it was government mandated because of it. She lived with the effects of disease losing family and raising young nieces and nephews. 

So DH and I will always choose to vaccinate our kids and ourselves. I absolutely believe in food as medicine and eating healthy, working out. But vaccines are the first line of defense in infectious diseases. So I will absolutely vaccinate. 

[Ting Tang]

4 hours ago, Insertcreativenamehere said:

My 9 yo was vaccinated the day after his age group became eligible at the earliest possible appointment I could find. 

He has an immune deficiency, developmental delays and a past history of severe, life-threatening respiratory issues. He has been on a vent for RSV and pneumonia several other times. I don't ever want to experience that again. 

Oh my goodness. I am so sorry you've had to experience that in the past. I completely understand your decision!

[Ting Tang]

2 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Statistically, what are the comparative chances of adverse effects from getting the virus?  And since your dh is not vaxxed, and you being vaxxed helps lessen the results for you, are the kids sheltered enough to remain safe from those chances?

Oh I am sorry, my husband is vaccinated, but it doesn't seem like he will get the booster shot.  I could be wrong.  His second dose was at the end of September.  He works from home this time of the year, and the kids are homeschooled. My worry is that his parents will bring it home from her hospital stay or that my daughter will pick it up in her dance class, which does have strict precautions. I understand it is safer to get antibodies from a vaccine than the illness itself.  My anxiety is probably emotionally-driven.  I am still mad many adults won't even consider it.

[Ting Tang]

3 hours ago, desertflower said:

Yes, my 11 and 9 yo are vaxxed. 
 

when we thought we had covid right before lockdown, my then 7 yo had a 103.5 fever. The one and only time any of my kids ever had that high of a fever. I never want to experience that again. 

Oh my goodness, that must have been so frightening.  That is so scary. I told my husband that was a great fear of mine.  Sorry you went through that.  😞

[Ting Tang]

4 hours ago, Spirea said:

When the vaccine was first available in Nov, our friend who is a Dr and has similar age kids said he was waiting a month to see if there were reactions before vaxxing his kids. He said in the last 20 yrs there was an RSV and a flu shot that were bad. We thought we would follow his lead. Then our pediatrician was going to have the vax for her office, so I was waiting for it so it would be nice and tidy on their records. I never heard from them and finally called and had completely missed their vax clinics. Then I called every other clinic and they either didn't do the young kids or were booking out until February. I didn't want to go to Walmart or similar. If my allergic kid has a reaction, I want him near a Dr or hospital.  Got appointments at a public health clinic and both ds7 and ds10 had their first shot yesterday, but then I felt so panicked that i was making a mistake and kept thinking, I don't know anyone vaxxing their young kids. We had no allergic reactions. Both kids have a slightly sore arm, though dd12 (fully vaxxed awhile ago) didn't even have that. Now, I'll be stressed for the next 5 weeks until fully vaxxed. We have been careful and avoided covid but our numbers are crazy right now and so many people are unmasked.

I have just felt so panicky and have extreme anxiety over this decision.  Honestly, this board is the only group of people I know vaccinating their kids, with my SIL being an exception with their 10 year old and teens.  I hate that this is a multi-step process, but as I've read here, at least one dose offers a little bit of protection, too.  Stinks we are going through this with our kiddos when some adults won't....and they can't even be bothered to take precautions during surges let alone this whole pandemic.

[Arcadia]

24 minutes ago, KrisTom said:

Oh I am sorry, my husband is vaccinated, but it doesn't seem like he will get the booster shot.  I could be wrong.  His second dose was at the end of September.  He works from home this time of the year, and the kids are homeschooled.

My husband is waiting until work from home ends before getting his booster. Kids are studying online and they don’t have extracurricular activities. Our relatives are all in other countries. So he doesn’t want to boost now and then need a fourth booster to go back to office which is postponed indefinitely due to omicron causing breakthrough cases. His employer announced they will reimburse for PCR tests for employees and immediate family.

[purpleowl]

10yo and 7yo got their first dose about a month after it was approved. 10yo said she would feel more comfortable getting it at their regular doctor's office, so we decided to wait until they had it available. When I called (the day they announced availability), that was their earliest appt.

However, the kids still haven't gotten dose #2. Christmas and New Year's interfered with the vaccine clinic schedule at the doctor's office, so it was going to be a five-week gap between doses. Wednesday I called to say hey, we have a non-covid cold, can they still get the vaccine? Phone person said yes, as long as they don't have fever. Showed up for our appt on Thursday, and...nope. They will not administer the covid vaccine to anyone with cold symptoms. So we will try again next Thursday, which will be six weeks since their first dose. 🤪

[Dianthus]

52 minutes ago, KrisTom said:

I have just felt so panicky and have extreme anxiety over this decision.  Honestly, this board is the only group of people I know vaccinating their kids, with my SIL being an exception with their 10 year old and teens.  I hate that this is a multi-step process, but as I've read here, at least one dose offers a little bit of protection, too.  Stinks we are going through this with our kiddos when some adults won't....and they can't even be bothered to take precautions during surges let alone this whole pandemic.

I know several people vaxxing girls around 12 and hs kids. I only know one family vaxxing their younger (6, 8, 10) girls. I know no one vaxxing little boys. This is what I know, but I would never ask because it's such a touchy subject. Maybe many more are vaxxing. There just seem to be so many non maskers and I assume they are also anti vaxxers. I don't facebook or otherwise look at conspiracy theories, but I do feel like we are among the few people locally with covid concerns, and it makes me question our choices. Most kids don't get very sick, and maybe it's better to just get it. This is even after my trusted and conservative pediatrician says, get the vax and my older child's specialist at a children's hospital saying get the vax. It's just stressful with the misinformation. We have always been on schedule with vaccines and do flu vax every year. If the government wanted to mess up the population through a vax, I think it would have been slipped into the flu shot which was already in high use. I was so concerned with my allergic kid but glad he had no reaction. I was questioning my husband the whole time until the shot. He met me there because I was worried the boys would be difficult getting shots. They put on a braver face with dad there. No problem. It's just stressful with the misinformation. I understand. But with our all things considered, I think it's best. 

[KSera]

1 hour ago, KrisTom said:

I have just felt so panicky and have extreme anxiety over this decision.  Honestly, this board is the only group of people I know vaccinating their kids, with my SIL being an exception with their 10 year old and teens.  I hate that this is a multi-step process, but as I've read here, at least one dose offers a little bit of protection, too.  Stinks we are going through this with our kiddos when some adults won't....and they can't even be bothered to take precautions during surges let alone this whole pandemic.

If it helps, you can look around at other places across the country and see many with much higher vaccination rates for kids, with no ill effects, (but often with lower covid hospitalization rates for kids). In my area, about half of kids 5-11 have started the series. It's around 80% for 12-17 year olds.

43 minutes ago, Spirea said:

 It's just stressful with the misinformation. We have always been on schedule with vaccines and do flu vax every year. If the government wanted to mess up the population through a vax, I think it would have been slipped into the flu shot which was already in high use. I was so concerned with my allergic kid but glad he had no reaction. I was questioning my husband the whole time until the shot. He met me there because I was worried the boys would be difficult getting shots. They put on a braver face with dad there. No problem. It's just stressful with the misinformation. I understand. But with our all things considered, I think it's best. 

I'm sorry you're being faced with so much misinformation 😔. It's great you were able to go against the misinformation to protect your kids, though.  On the government conspiracy thing, in addition to your reasoning about the flu shot, why would the government want to mess up the population and why would all the governments around the entire world all agree and be in on it?

[Ting Tang]

Yes, the misinformation is hard.  People cast doubts into society.  I always had slight concerns my kids would have reactions to regular vaccines most kids get, but never have I experienced such extreme anxiety over the decision.  It does help to see other areas have greater rates and better results.  I just live in a poorly-educated community that actually voted for the public school to be mask-optional before the governor mandated masks again.

[Dianthus]

7 minutes ago, KSera said:

If it helps, you can look around at other places across the country and see many with much higher vaccination rates for kids, with no ill effects, (but often with lower covid hospitalization rates for kids). In my area, about half of kids 5-11 have started the series. It's around 80% for 12-17 year olds.

I'm sorry you're being faced with so much misinformation 😔. It's great you were able to go against the misinformation to protect your kids, though.  On the government conspiracy thing, in addition to your reasoning about the flu shot, why would the government want to mess up the population and why would all the governments around the entire world all agree and be in on it?

No idea! It doesn't make sense to me. I don't know. 

I think the USA is only ~15% fully vaxxed for ages 5-11. I read that a couple days ago but cannot find it now.  I would be surprised if my area is that high.

[Melissa in Australia]

Not going to. Both twins have serious post traumatic stress triggered by needles. It is horrific and results in Them being in an altered mental state for days, reliving being tortured. Their post traumatic stress is triggered by needles and only needles.

we avoid needles completely. When they need dental work one had had a general anaesthesia, gasses to sleep.  Or they have had crowns put over teeth instead of filling them. One has had surgery multiple times, he gets held down and gassed to sleep, 

Their reaction to needles is so severe. For an illness that presents very mildly in children there is no way we are subjecting them to a needle. Their psychologist very strongly advises against it as well

 

[Kassia]

I feel very fortunate that my kids are all young adults and I don't have to make this decision.  Big hugs to all of you who are struggling with this or have to make decisions that may be unpopular with others.  

[Dianthus]

48 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

. For an illness that presents very mildly in children there is no way we are subjecting them to a needle.

Yes, it is true the majority of cases is very mild. Anytime I find out someone's kid had covid, I ask how severe. The answer is always no big deal, just a cold or afever for a day or they were tired. Always mild symptoms in every one I've asked.

[Spryte]

I found this aap report interesting: https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-vaccination-trends/.
 

As of Jan 5, around 25% of kids 5 - 11 vaccinated, in the US. (The 16% number was from early December, I think.) States have a wide range — 9% to 57% of kids that age vaccinated.
 

7 million kids. I’m glad my 10 yr old DD is in that group!

Edited January 8, 2022 by Spryte

[Ting Tang]

23 minutes ago, Spirea said:

Yes, it is true the majority of cases is very mild. Anytime I find out someone's kid had covid, I ask how severe. The answer is always no big deal, just a cold or afever for a day or they were tired. Always mild symptoms in every one I've asked.

That's what I have heard, too.  But I hear about the long covid and mis-c that can come from suspected asymptomatic cases or known mild cases, and I worry.  😞  

[Spryte]

8 hours ago, KrisTom said:

I read a quote that 16% were vaccinated and that the rollout would be slow.  I canceled a clinic appointment that allowed walkins and scheduled private appointments at the health department.  But to be honest, I am very nervous and am still not sure I can go through with it.  I worry my children will be rare outliers with adverse effects or some mysterious problem from them will in fact arise later on, even if there doesn't seem to be a reason that even could happen down the road.  I really wish we had the Novavax option for them, but even when it gets approved for adults, it seems it will be some time before it gets approved for kids.  Also, it is a process.  I do have somewhat of a luxury to go back and forth because they are very sheltered right now.  ** we adults are vaxxed---my husband won't, but I will likely continue on my course of getting boosters as long as it seems pointed and purposeful. The response so far to your survey is not representative of the general population.  I am very worried about the effects of the virus, even mild cases.  I feel very torn and have a lot of anxiety over all of this. To be fair, I have felt anxiety over my shots, perhaps irrational, but it is easier to choose for myself than for my children.  

I read that 16% was the percentage of kids 5 - 11 who’d had at least one dose in early December. Might you have seen an earlier report, accidentally, or do you have a link? I posted the aap link above, with 25% in the US, but widely varying between states. It’s not a leap for me to believe that most kids around you, and most people you know are not having their kids vaccinated, if you live in a state with a lower rate. I’m sorry. I know it’s adding stress for you.

I, too, live in a low vaccination area for kids, and we just did it. We went the very first day shots were available, and we were one of maybe five families in a huge vaccination clinic. But I have high risk kids, and I’m high risk. Three in our household have suffered mightily from what started as common colds, we feared we would lose them, so I’m not willing to take any chances now, and I would move mountains to make sure my kids had every extra chance they can get, should they get Covid. Plus, we are a science family—we do vaccines and follow medical advice, so this just was part of our family culture. I understand other families have different experiences and different cultures  informing their decisions.

[AurieD]

Our 5-11s are only eligible from Monday. So far the earliest appointment at a time we can make is mid Feb, but I’ll keep looking for an earlier one to try and get them done before our state opens it’s borders on Feb 5th.

 

[Ting Tang]

10 minutes ago, Spryte said:

I read that 16% was the percentage of kids 5 - 11 who’d had at least one dose in early December. Might you have seen an earlier report, accidentally, or do you have a link? I posted the aap link above, with 25% in the US, but widely varying between states. It’s not a leap for me to believe that most kids around you, and most people you know are not having their kids vaccinated, if you live in a state with a lower rate. I’m sorry. I know it’s adding stress for you.

I, too, live in a low vaccination area for kids, and we just did it. We went the very first day shots were available, and we were one of maybe five families in a huge vaccination clinic. But I have high risk kids, and I’m high risk. Three in our household have suffered mightily from what started as common colds, we feared we would lose them, so I’m not willing to take any chances now, and I would move mountains to make sure my kids had every extra chance they can get, should they get Covid. Plus, we are a science family—we do vaccines and follow medical advice, so this just was part of our family culture. I understand other families have different experiences and different cultures  informing their decisions.

Oh that could very well be. I remembered reading it in some article about children and vaccines, but it is good to see that number increasing.  I've seen a lot of apolitical people in this area become more political over their "causes."  They hate that their kids have to wear masks at school, but I am sure their kids would have a better attitude if they knew why.  I really cannot get over this disregard for others, not just with a refusal to vaccinate, but with every layer of trying to help out during all of this.

[JennyD]

We were thrilled when the pediatric Covid-19 vaccine was available and got our DS11 vaccinated the very first day possible.   All of his friends and my friends' school-aged children are similarly vaccinated.  We also know several people -- mostly doctors -- who managed to get their kids into the vaccine trials beforehand so some of their children received the vaccine even earlier.  I have two different friends whose toddlers are in the 2-5 trials going on right now.  

Unlike the rest of us, DS11 had no side effects from either of his two shots.  Presumably this is because his vaccine was much lower a dose than ours.

Once it became clear that this virus wasn't going away -- so, mid-2020 -- our family goal was to avoid catching it with a naive immune system.  I was so tremendously relieved once we got our youngest vaccinated.  Although though I knew intellectually that even with a totally naive immune system he was very unlikely to have severe or lasting problems, I was still pretty anxious about it.  Now, even with omicron raging, I am far less worried about Covid than I was 2 months ago.

 

[Dianthus]

29 minutes ago, KrisTom said:

Oh that could very well be. I remembered reading it in some article about children and vaccines, but it is good to see that number increasing.  I've seen a lot of apolitical people in this area become more political over their "causes."  They hate that their kids have to wear masks at school, but I am sure their kids would have a better attitude if they knew why.  I really cannot get over this disregard for others, not just with a refusal to vaccinate, but with every layer of trying to help out during all of this.

Yes, it's so divisive. I haven't volunteered the info that dd12 is vaxxed. People are just so weird about it. Last spring, when I mentioned to a friend that I was vaxxed she was very concerned if I wanted to have more kids because she was convinced about the vax causing fertility issues. I'm not going to have people acting weird to my kids when they discover they are vaxxed.

I do understand not wanting kids to mask for 8 hrs a day. I would hate that also, especially for speech concerns in young kids. I'm really thankful to be homeschooling through all this. I wish they could maintain safe pods with testing and no masks but it probably isn't realistic so masking is the best option.

[Ting Tang]

13 minutes ago, Spirea said:

Yes, it's so divisive. I haven't volunteered the info that dd12 is vaxxed. People are just so weird about it. Last spring, when I mentioned to a friend that I was vaxxed she was very concerned if I wanted to have more kids because she was convinced about the vax causing fertility issues. I'm not going to have people acting weird to my kids when they discover they are vaxxed.

I do understand not wanting kids to mask for 8 hrs a day. I would hate that also, especially for speech concerns in young kids. I'm really thankful to be homeschooling through all this. I wish they could maintain safe pods with testing and no masks but it probably isn't realistic so masking is the best option.

I wish it wasn't so divisive.  Some people really don't know how to pick their battles!  I got laughed at when I got my first vaccine, and I am sure this same person would think it was insane I'd even be considering vaccinating our children.  I, too, am grateful to be able to homeschool. I do think about shipping off our oldest to school, but with omicron, I am afraid they'll eventually send him right back home to me, lol.  I really think kids' attitudes have a lot to do with their parents' attitudes.

[Drama Llama]

2 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Not going to. Both twins have serious post traumatic stress triggered by needles. It is horrific and results in Them being in an altered mental state for days, reliving being tortured. Their post traumatic stress is triggered by needles and only needles.

we avoid needles completely. When they need dental work one had had a general anaesthesia, gasses to sleep.  Or they have had crowns put over teeth instead of filling them. One has had surgery multiple times, he gets held down and gassed to sleep, 

Their reaction to needles is so severe. For an illness that presents very mildly in children there is no way we are subjecting them to a needle. Their psychologist very strongly advises against it as well

 

I'm so sorry you're in that situation.  To me, that's a good example of a medical reason not to be vaccinated.  I think we've got another poster with a similar medical reason.  My middle son was in that category for some other vaccines.

To me the fact that there will always be people who can't safely be vaccinated,  or who can't mount an immune response to a vaccine, is part of the reason why I feel so strongly about vaccinating the rest of us.  

[maize]

Mine are vaccinated. We got the first shot as soon as they opened up in November, then two of them tested positive for covid that same week (in retrospect we think it was in the household before they got the shot). We waited after that to get their second dose because I wanted to give their bodies time to calm down after covid+vaccine and there are some studies that indicate that waiting more than three weeks between doses results in longer lasting immunity. They just got their second doses this week, and my 14 year old got her booster dose. She ran a fever that night but none of the younger kids had noticeable symptoms.

 

[OH_Homeschooler]

I got my youngest vaccinated as soon as I could. It was easy to fit in the appointments since she was home for 2 weeks, on 2 separate occasions, due to exposure at school. That is, she missed 4 weeks of school due to possible exposures in November and December. Now that she is fully vaccinated, she won't have to be sent home just because some other kid's parents thought it was fine to send their kids to school with Covid symptoms.