COVID vaccines for young children roll out as parents debate Pfizer shot

Eight-year-old Sonya Cantor had asked for a vaccine for her birthday in May and it topped her holiday wishlist as well.

She's even picked out the outfit that she'll wear when she finally gets the shot, which she modeled Wednesday in her Nanuet front yard: A pink-on-pink T-shirt, emblazoned with “Proud to be vaccinated,” a pink tulle skirt and pink rain boots.

Sonya makes clear she can't wait.

"Not worried one bit. I'm so excited," said the third-grader. "I'm really looking forward to interact with my friends again.

Sonya went to Highview Elementary but has been homeschooled during much of the pandemic.

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Her appointment is for Thursday afternoon, at Clarkstown Pediatrics.

Clarkstown Pediatrics, one of the largest practices in Rockland, received its first round of Pfizer's child-size COVID vaccine vials on Wednesday, a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the green light to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the age group.

In the wake of the CDC’s sign-off Tuesday night, schools, health care providers and pharmacies across the Hudson Valley have been preparing to roll out the vaccine for young children.

While parents have mixed feelings, excitement about a sense of normalcy, along with hesitancy and uncertainty about safety, educators and medical experts recommended all to make decisions that are best for their children, based on consultation with their healthcare providers.

Dr. Jeffrey Karasik, a pediatrician and president of Clarkstown Pediatrics, said many parents are relieved, as they have been waiting for a long time.

Karasik has seen hesitancy and some parents who were more eager to vaccinate their teenagers have been less comfortable with shots for younger children.

“But most parents want to contribute to seeing hopefully an eventual end to this pandemic," he said.

Lower dose to minimize side effects

Children ages 5 to 11 will receive one-third of the dose authorized for those 12 and older. According to the vaccine makers, the lower dose was chosen to minimize side effects and because it still prompts a strong immune response.

States have started ordering doses based on the population of children they have in the age group. During the 2019-20 school year, school districts in the Hudson Valley had 163,000 students in grades K-6, the grades attended by kids age 5-11. The region includes Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties.

The vaccine arrives just as people prepare for a holiday season and a potentially risky winter wave. As of Nov. 2, schools across the Mid-Hudson region reported 3,057 students and 649 teachers and staff tested positive since Sept. 13, and labs reported 5,451 cases of children ages 5 to 17.

Jocelyn Dummett, a pediatrician at Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, said the vaccine may take about a week or two to arrive at her office. She said some parents are eager to get the vaccine for their children because children who fall in the age group are in school and are susceptible to getting the virus from each other. Many parents have inquired about the vaccine for a while. She added she will figure out how to administer the shots after it arrives.

“I get questions from parents asking whether the vaccine is safe all the time. First, I would say it is safe. I told them I would never ever do something that would jeopardize your child,” said Dr. Dummett.

Lindsay Neptune, a nurse practitioner who leads health centers run by the nonprofit Open Door Family Medical Center at seven schools in Port Chester and Ossining, said that many parents she has talked to are eager to have their youngest vaccinated.

For some parents, they see it as a step forward in preventing many of the situations that occurred as a result of large-scale outbreaks, including online learning and reduction in school programs, sports, other extracurricular activities outside of school, and care for children outside of school hours, she said.

She noted she hasn’t seen children 12 and older have any adverse reactions to a COVID vaccine, beyond routine side effects like tiredness, headaches and chills.

A clinical trial conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech showed that the vaccine was 90.7% effective against symptomatic COVID-19. The antibody response to the vaccine was comparable to the one seen in people ages 16 to 25.

Every million doses given to children ages 5 to 11 would prevent about 58,000 cases and 226 hospitalizations in that group, according to the CDC.

Debate swirls on vaccinating kids

Kelly Trotta, a mother of a 7-year-old in Cornwall, is among the parents who are looking forward to inoculating their young children. Last year her immunocompromised daughter had to learn remotely. Now she has returned to school and wears a customized N95 face mask as she is assigned to a separate classroom with other immunocompromised students.

“We do plan to get her vaccinated as soon as it’s available. She has to do testing to make sure she is eligible because of other vaccine reactions she has had in the past,” said Trotta. “It will protect her. Any additional protection that she can have is beneficial.”

Debate on vaccinating young children continues to swirl. Some parents are reluctant to inoculate their children due to concerns about safety and potential side effects.

Lauren Shannon, treasurer of a parent group fighting for parental rights in Dutchess County, said she would homeschool her child if the vaccine was mandated. She has moved her kindergartner to a private school this year due to a districtwide mask mandate in Arlington School District.

“I think it's very dangerous. People are really playing with fire with these vaccines, particularly for children. It’s a whole different ballgame than for adults," Shannon said. "Adults can make their own decision but children can't, so it just makes me very fearful for children and what reactions they might have."

Parents’ main concerns when it comes to vaccinating their younger children have to do with potential unknown long-term effects and serious side effects of the vaccine, including two-thirds who are concerned it may affect their child’s future fertility, according to the most recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Some parents, like Melanie Collins of Newburgh, have not decided yet and will wait and see.

“With younger children whose immune systems are obviously different from older kids, it’s really important that parents take the time to do the research and make an educated decision around what’s best for their family, based on their own children and their own family dynamics structure,” said Collins, a mother of three.

Schools and counties help rollout

Government officials and educators across the region have been preparing to facilitate the rollout. Local pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS have already accepted vaccine appointments for children at certain locations as early as Nov. 6.

County health officials encouraged people to contact their primary health care providers for immunization. Orange County Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman said the county has been preparing for months and working closely with local schools, hospitals and pediatricians to ensure the vaccine is abundantly available throughout the county.

In Rockland, the county health department has administered 51,762 COVID-19 vaccine doses at its own clinic and at houses of worship, community centers and large private businesses, and stored and redistributed another 18,699 vaccine doses to more than 20 local health providers.

“We expect many parents will choose to visit the family physicians and pediatricians they know and trust to vaccinate their children aged 5-11 years old and appreciate their help in vaccinating this newly eligible population,” said Rockland Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel-Ruppert. She noted that the county vaccine clinic at the Yeager Center in Pomona can accommodate shots for children in the age group.

As of Tuesday, 74.4% of New Yorkers had received at least one dose of vaccine, including 64.2% of those ages 12-15 and 73.7% of those 16-25, according to state data. There were 1.38 million public students in K-6 in the school year 2017-18.

Schools will also offer to host vaccine clinics in the coming weeks as they are finalizing plans. White Plains School District Superintendent Joe Ricca said he wants to make the vaccine accessible to families, especially when it can be hard to get a quick appointment with a pediatrician. The district in May was among the first in the region to host a vaccine clinic at a high school this past spring, and is already planning to offer two clinics for young children.

“It’s not my decision to make; I only offer the opportunity,” he said. “Parents can consult with their health care provider and make the best determination for their children. If they choose not to, that’s fine.”

He noted that clinics for children 5-11 will have to have the right “bedside manner” and that parents will have to accompany their kids.

Pine Bush Superintendent Tim Mains said the district has volunteered to partner with the county in setting up a clinic at school and is awaiting a response from the county.

Several districts in the region, including Port Chester, have sent surveys to parents in recent days, asking whether they would like to see a vaccine clinic in school.

Dr. Neal Smoller, holistic pharmacist and owner of Village Apothecary in Woodstock, said he plans to host a clinic for children soon with 600 doses he has ordered, but only 300 had signed up as of Wednesday. Last year he said the demand was so high that he was unable to keep up. Smoller said it may take time to set up school clinics due to the flu season and the high demand for booster shots.

"I don't think I will have a difficult time getting rid of 400 to 500 doses but I think anything beyond that will be challenging," Smoller said. "It's difficult to immunize young children too — they are very fearful of vaccines — so I think the pediatrician is the best place for that to be done."

For some parents, they are worried about a potential school vaccine mandate as a new bill has been introduced in Albany that would require all New York students to be vaccinated in order to attend school.

The bill, introduced in early October, would add COVID vaccines to the list of inoculations that students must have for school — effective 30 days after full federal approval for children 5-11. If passed, it would require the state Health Department to develop a vaccination program. The state Legislature is not due to return to session until January.

Poughkeepsie Superintendent Eric Rosser said the district does not have a stance on a vaccine mandate but will continue to "adhere to the directives of the state and local officials."

Gary Stern and Katelyn Cordero contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Covid vaccine shots expected to roll out in the coming weeks