6 Things to Know about COVID-19 Vaccination for Children

ATLANTA, GA-Information for parents and caregivers of children ages 5 years and older.  Everyone ages 5 years and older should get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible.

1. COVID-19 vaccination for children is safe.

Ongoing safety monitoring shows that COVID-19 vaccination continues to be safe for children and that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks.

2. Getting vaccinated can help protect children against COVID-19.

COVID-19 vaccination continues to protect children against severe disease, including hospitalization. There is no way to tell in advance how children will be affected by COVID-19. Children with underlying medical conditions are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. However, healthy children without underlying medical conditions can also experience severe illness.

3. Children may have some side effects after COVID-19 vaccination.

Side effects may affect your child’s ability to do daily activities, but they should go away within a few days. Side effects are more common after the second shot. Some children have no side effects.

4. A different dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine is given to children.

Children receive a smaller dose of COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine dosage is based on age on the day of vaccination, not by patient weight. This is also true for other routinely recommended vaccines, like hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines.

5. Children who have already had COVID-19 should still get vaccinated.

Emerging evidence indicates that people can get added protection by getting vaccinated after they have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

6. Children can safely receive other vaccines the same day they receive their COVID-19 vaccine.

If multiple vaccines are given at a single visit, each injection will be given in a different injection site, according to recommendations by age.