Lincoln Pediatrician: COVID Vaccines for Younger Kids are Safe, Effective

Pediatricians across the state are gearing-up to be able to give the Pfizer COVID vaccine to kids after the CDC approved its use this week. Up to 60,000 kids between 5-11 years old in the Omaha area and almost 30,000 in the Lincoln area will be eligible for the shots when they’re available, likely next week. Lincoln pediatrician Dr. Sian Jones-Jobst also works with Bryan Health and said the doses for kids will be different.

“Currently patients 12 and up are receiving 30 micrograms of that vaccine and the pediatric vaccine will be one-third, or 10 micrograms,” Jones-Jobst said during a Zoom call with Bryan Health on Wednesday.

She said during the trials to test the vaccine’s effectiveness on younger children, there were no serious adverse incidents related to the Pfizer shot. She said the way the shot will be administered is similar to the process already in place.

“It’s a two-dose series given at least three weeks apart, and that’s important because that second shot helps to elicit that memory immunity response, and so that’s an important aspect of the vaccine,” she said.

The shots for younger kids will be administered at primary care doctor’s offices, at vaccine clinics and at pharmacies. There have been nearly 2 million identified cases of COVID-19 in kids 5-11 nationwide with 94 deaths during the pandemic.