Children & teens

Build Confidence for Children and Teens

Parents (or caregivers) may be reluctant to have their child or adolescent get vaccinated against COVID-19, even if they chose to get vaccinated themselves. Chief among parents’ concerns is a sense that there is not enough information about the vaccine for children or that more research needs to be done. Many parents also cite concerns about vaccine side effects and potential long-term effects.

Key Points

COVID-19 vaccination is an important tool to help protect children and teens, especially from severe disease, hospitalization, or death.
Half of children younger than 18 years of age hospitalized with COVID-19 have no underlying medical conditions.
COVID-19 vaccination reduces the likelihood of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
COVID-19 vaccination provides added protection for children and teens who previously were infected with SARS-CoV-2 (e.g., by further reducing the risk of reinfection).
The rare risk of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines—mostly among male persons between the ages of 12 and 39 years—may be further reduced with a longer time between the first and second dose. COVID-19 illness is a bigger risk factor for myocarditis for children and teens younger than 16 years of age than vaccination is.

Information for Pharmacy Teams

Watch APhA’s Back to School: Not Just Shoes, Vaccination Too! CPE webinar to learn from experts in the field as they review guidelines specific to pediatric vaccination, current COVID-19 vaccines, and other vaccine recommendations as well as discuss ways to improve vaccine confidence in parents.

Watch APhA’s CPE webinar on COVID-19 Pediatric Immunization to learn from experts in the field about pediatric COVID-19 illness, the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in children, and how to address concerns from parents about vaccines.

Take this short quiz about the Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in Children 6 Months Through 5 Years of Age to test your knowledge about the latest recommendations.

Listen to APhA’s podcast Vaccinating Young Children for COVID – Tips for Pharmacists to hear a pharmacist, who has been vaccinating young children for decades, explain that pharmacists already have the training that they need to vaccinate children and share tips for doing so.

Watch APhA’s open forum webinar on The Latest COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations to learn what you need to know to increase vaccination rates in the pediatric age group, including practical strategies for success.

Watch APhA’s open forum webinar on Practical Strategies for Delivering COVID-19 Vaccines to Children and Building Confidence in Hesitant Patients to learn the latest COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children ages 5 through 11 years old, practical strategies for delivering COVID-19 vaccines to children, and messaging for building COVID-19 vaccine confidence in parents.

Watch APhA’s CPE webinar on COVID-19 Vaccinations in Adolescents to learn about the use of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for individuals ages 12 through 18 years, including safety and efficacy.

Participate in APhA’s Trigger Tape Training, which reviews key points to communicate with patients by providing patient scenarios and the recommended response to each one.

Check out APhA’s quick tip video to hear a pharmacist answer the question: What can pharmacists share with parents who have questions about vaccinating their children?

Watch APhA’s Protecting Children Younger Than 5 Years to learn from an expert about the need for and the benefits of vaccinating young children against COVID-19.

Information for Patients

Share Frequently Asked Questions From Parents/Guardians to help answer commonly asked questions about COVID-19 vaccine availability, safety and effectiveness, preparing for the vaccination, and common side effects.