Parents weigh decisions as COVID vaccine doses for kids reach Nevada

Pharmacies, clinics and doctor’s offices successful Southern Nevada were gearing up Wednesday to springiness the archetypal doses of COVID-19 vaccine to kids arsenic young arsenic 5, arsenic immoderate parents continued to measurement whether to get their children inoculated.

Pharmacies said they would statesman administering shots to those ages 5 to 11 arsenic soon arsenic this weekend, portion the Southern Nevada Health District said its main nationalist wellness halfway would statesman offering the shots adjacent week.

UNLV Medicine, the aesculapian signifier of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, has ordered the lower-dose vaccine for youngsters, and expects to statesman to giving the shots aboriginal this month, said Dr. Evelyn Montalvo Stanton, seat of the Department of Pediatrics.

While immoderate parents are anxious to get their children vaccinated arsenic a measurement toward greater normalcy, others are voicing concerns astir imaginable broadside effects and taking a wait-and-see approach.

“I don’t spot them (most parents) rushing and knocking connected the doorway close distant to get the vaccine,” said Montalvo Stanton, a pediatric pulmonologist.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention precocious Tuesday gave the last support needed to statesman administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the archetypal COVID-19 changeable to beryllium approved successful the U.S. for this property group. The changeable is one-third the dose being fixed to teens and adults.

Some parents person questions

Although U.S. wellness authorities and starring doctors’ groups are urging parents to get their kids vaccinated, parents inactive person questions.

“There’s inactive immoderate hesitancy successful immoderate families who are dubious astir vaccines,” Montalvo Stanton said. “There are parents that are good informed that possibly mightiness person a aesculapian background, and the parents that are not good informed, oregon speechmaking a batch of the media, that are inactive disquieted astir the vaccine.”

Health authorities are encouraging parents to speech with a trusted wellness attraction supplier astir their concerns. That’s what Jeffrey Balcom, whose lad is simply a fourth-grader astatine Bonner Elementary School, said helium and his woman program to do.

“The tipping constituent for america is we’re going to speech to his pediatrician … and we’re going to marque an informed determination from there,” said Balcom, a comptroller astatine a nonprofit, who is leaning toward getting his lad vaccinated.

“I’m not a scientist. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a virologist, an epidemiologist. I’m going to enactment my spot successful my ain idiosyncratic acquisition and my son’s pediatrician. Full stop. Period. End of story,” helium said. “Anything beyond that — pictures connected the internet, anecdotal stories from radical connected Twitter” won’t origin into the decision.

Balcom said that he, his woman and 13-year-old girl each got vaccinated with lone insignificant broadside effects. Despite being vaccinated, Balcom, who is 46 with underlying wellness conditions, contracted a milder breakthrough lawsuit of COVID-19. He credits the vaccine with keeping the illness successful check.

However, helium wants to speech with their pediatrician astir his son’s unsocial wellness past and the likelihood of him experiencing myocarditis, an inflammation of the bosom muscle, a uncommon broadside effect of the vaccine that besides is simply a grounds of COVID-19.

Montalvo Stanton said that myocarditis arsenic a imaginable vaccine broadside effect is simply a predominant interest among parents.

“The numbers are truthful debased nationwide that we person to look astatine the benefits of the vaccine outweighing the hazard from processing (COVID-19) and being successful the ICU,” she said.

The Food and Drug Administration assessed 3,100 children successful determining that the vaccine was safe. The youngsters experienced akin oregon less impermanent reactions — specified arsenic a sore arm, fever oregon achiness — than teens experienced. However, the survey wasn’t ample capable to observe immoderate highly uncommon broadside effects specified arsenic the bosom inflammation that occasionally occurs aft the 2nd full-strength dose, mostly successful young men and teen boys.

A caller Kaiser Family Foundation survey recovered that astir parents won’t unreserved to get the shot. About 25 percent of parents polled successful October said they would get their children vaccinated “right away.” The remainder were astir divided betwixt those who said they volition hold to spot however the vaccine performs and those who said they “definitely” won’t person their children vaccinated.

Family relies connected apt immunity

Danica Duran, who teaches 10th people honors English astatine Legacy High School successful Las Vegas, has nary plans to get immoderate of her 3 sons vaccinated. She and her babe some contracted COVID-19 and experienced mild symptoms. Her 2 older sons, ages 5 and 12, besides had symptoms but weren’t tested.

“I would ne'er taxable my kid to an chartless imaginable life-threatening complications erstwhile they’ve already had it and survived,” said Duran, 36, who said that her household believes successful earthy immunity from anterior exposure, “medical autonomy, and effectual attraction options if and erstwhile necessary.”

She believes that the hazard from the illness has been exaggerated. She said she gets her accusation from aggregate sources and tries “to sorb each types of arguments successful bid to make a ground for what is close for maine and my family.”

In the U.S., astir 1.9 cardinal kids ages 5 to 11 person been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to national wellness authorities. Some 8,300 person been hospitalized, astir one-third needed intensive care, and astatine slightest 94 deaths person been verified.

In Clark County, 37,006 COVID-19 cases person been reported successful children ages 5 to 17, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.

“Children with COVID-19 tin make terrible symptoms that effect successful hospitalizations, death, MIS-C “ — a superior information that results successful inflammation of organs — “and semipermanent complications,” the wellness territory said successful a quality release.

The wellness territory has reported 92 cases of MIS-C — multisystem inflammatory syndrome — -among Clark County children. There person been 266 COVID-19 hospitalizations of children ages 5 to 17 and 4 deaths.

Vaccination tin assistance to support those who are excessively young to person the vaccine, the territory said. In Clark County, determination person been 7,468 cases of COVID-19 reported successful children ages 4 oregon younger, 149 hospitalizations and 1 death.

State receives archetypal allocation

Nevada has received an archetypal allocation of 95,100 doses of the lower-dose children’s vaccine, capable for astir one-third of children ages 5 to 11 successful the authorities to person 1 dose, according to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

Currently, 233 providers crossed Nevada are enrolled with the authorities to administer COVID-19 vaccine. Pharmacies person further allocations straight from the CDC.

The authorities expects allotments to beryllium capable to guarantee children tin person their 2nd doses 3 weeks aboriginal portion continuing to springiness unvaccinated children their archetypal doses.

The Southern Nevada Health District volition statesman administering Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine connected Nov. 10 astatine its main nationalist wellness halfway astatine 280 S. Decatur. Pediatric vaccine volition beryllium disposable connected a walk-in ground until the district’s assignment strategy is updated.

Other territory sites volition statesman to supply the vaccine soon. Information connected availability volition beryllium posted connected the website astatine www.SNHD.info/covid-vaccine.

Walgreens said it planned to commencement kids’ vaccinations Saturday and that parents could motion up online oregon by calling 1-800-Walgreens. CVS said it was accepting appointments online and by telephone astatine prime pharmacies starting Sunday.

Contact Mary Hynes astatine mhynes@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 connected Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.