SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Children as young as six months old can now get a COVID-19 vaccine. Saturday, the CDC recommended the shots, for kids under the age of five.
Rady Children's Hospital says they will begin giving the shots to young children as soon as Tuesday.
Those who have small kids at Balboa Park shared their thoughts on the vaccine, and surprisingly the consensus was resounding relief.
Parents that ABC10 News spoke to say that they just needed time and now that they have gotten it, they feel more than ready to take this next step.
"Now that it's been around for a little longer, there's been more testing more records and everything, we are a little more comfortable," shares John, an uncle to two nephews.
Parents, caretakers and family members shared their thoughts on children, older than 6 months, now being able to get their COVID shot.
"We are excited about that I mean why not," says McKay Weight, a father of a It's really important, again thankfully we have the medical people in place and those things to be able to help us out."
Rady Children's Pediatrician, Mark Sawyer, who is also on the FDA board and voted in favor of the vaccine, says kids who get the vaccine can prevent hospitalization, death, and long term COVID. It can also prevent MISC, an illness that causes severe inflammation throughout the body.
"The benefit of the vaccine clearly outweighs any risk that it has," shares Dr. Sawyer. "And you are much better getting vaccinated than getting COVID. This is true for infants and young children just as it is for older children and adults."
However, according to the FDA, for children ages 2 to 5, after the second dose, the Moderna vaccine was only 36.8% effective in preventing COVID-19. The Pfizer study of effectiveness was not deemed reliable by the FDA because of the low number of COVID cases that occurred in the participants.
But those in the medical field, like Dr. Sawyer, believe that parents should make the best choice for their child.
"Parents who are not so sure about this vaccine, clearly the risk from COVID is lower in children than in adults," explains Dr. Sawyer.
"Personally I think that children with high risk conditions are definitely a candidate for this, or for those parents who are just anxious because of their concern of exposure to COVID this would be a great way to modify that risk."
The CDC says that they have already begun distribution of pediatric vaccines across the country, that will be available to children as soon as this week.
Rady Children's Hospital says that they will be providing COVID vaccines to children 6 months and older as soon as Tuesday. They advise anyone who is interested to schedule an appointment.