COVID Vaccines age 6 month to 5 years

Parents, COVID vaccines for children 6 months of age and older is now available.  Our office will offer both versions of the vaccine that have been approved for children of this age (Pfizer and Moderna).  We wanted to to share with you some of the key statistics that helped get these vaccines approved and some of the differences between the two versions.  See chart below.

Both vaccines offer protection against COVID disease.  There is a clear difference in the two vaccines based on their dose.  The lower dose Pfizer vaccine causes less side effects, but takes longer to provide protection.  The higher dose Moderna vaccine is associated with more side effects (still minor), but offers protection sooner.  A third dose of the Moderna vaccine is being studied and will likely be recommended in the future.  This third dose may also be more targeted to protect children from the omicron variant as well.

As with many things during parenthood, there are options, but not necessarily a perfect choice to be made.  As of now, there is no data on starting the series with one brand and finishing it with another.  For families that are interested in getting protection as soon as possible, the Moderna vaccine may be better, even at a risk of minor side effects.  We will do our best to have both options available for as long as there is interest.

Our office will start offering vaccine clinics for these children.  Please call our office at 910-762-2651 to set up an appointment.