Why Parents Should Make COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments Now for Children

• Experts say parents should get appointments now for COVID-19 vaccinations for children 12 to 17 years old.
• The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses and it takes two weeks after the second shot for full immunity to develop.
• That means students returning to school in mid-August need to get vaccinated no later than mid-July.

The Fourth of July fireworks have barely fizzled away, and it’s already time to start thinking about sending children back to school.

This is especially important this year as COVID-19 is still a health hazard for students.

Experts say parents shouldn’t wait to get children older than 11 years old vaccinated. Given that two doses are necessary for most vaccines, and a 2-week waiting period is needed to bolster immunity, experts say parents should begin making vaccination appointments now for their children.

“Children represent about a quarter of new weekly reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S.,” Dr. Beth Oller, a family practitioner in Kansas, told Healthline. “This means they are still significantly contributing to the spread. While serious illness from COVID-19 is rare in children, it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Thousands of children have been hospitalized with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and over 350 have died.

“As a parent, knowing that there’s a safe vaccine available that can virtually prevent hospitalization or death of my child or patients from COVID-19 makes the decision an extremely easy one,” Oller said.

Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only one available to children 12 to 17 years old. It’s given in 2 doses spread 3 weeks apart. After the second dose, it takes 2 more weeks for full immunity to develop.

With many schools beginning in August, experts say non-vaccinated children should be immunized as soon as possible.

“Vaccines work,” Dr. Jeannie Kenkare, chief medical officer of Connecticut-based PhysicianOne Urgent Care, told Healthline. “They save lives and prevent some of the worst outcomes from illness.

“In the case of COVID-19 vaccines, these are some of the most effective vaccines we have ever had,” Kenkare said. “If we don’t act quickly to get the vaccine into as many people as possible, then all of the efforts to stop this deadly disease may become ineffective and knock us back to the rates and outcomes we experienced near the beginning of the pandemic.”