DOCTOR IS IN by Dr. Adil Manzoor OP/ED
It is now stale news that the CDC has approved the vaccine use in children between 5 and 11. In the wake of the announcement, many parents rushed to their pediatricians and physicians on the next step regarding administering the vaccine to their kids.
I get that many want their kids protected from the coronavirus as soon as possible, especially now that we are approaching the holiday season, and rightfully so. However, parents still have to be patient with their pharmacy and pediatrician.
The authorization has only been a few weeks, and we are already hearing cases of pharmacies wrongly administering the vaccine to children. One pharmacy at Loudoun County, Virginia, gave around 100 children the wrong dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine. I know it sounds like a grave mistake, but it’s not as bad as you’d imagine.
The vaccine approved for children is formulated differently from the adult version. The caps are also different for good measure, with the children’s version having an orange cap against the purple cap of the adult version. While it is essential to differentiate between the different vaccines, it is worth noting that the two contain the same active ingredient.
What the Loudon County Pharmacy did was to administer lower doses of the adult dose to children, rather than the recommended children dose. This is hugely irresponsible; there’s no excusing that, but as I said, it isn’t as grave as you may imagine.
The county’s health department had to send letters to parents of the affected children, advising them to go see their physicians. The solution can be getting fresh 2-dose children vaccine shots or getting a second dose two weeks after the vaccine was first administered.
Since then, the pharmacy that made the flaw has been removed from Virginia’s vaccine program, and rightly so.
What I want to bring out from all of this is that pharmacies and physicians are humans too and they can make mistakes. Admittedly, these are professions where you cannot afford to make mistakes, but they are still humans. Parents need to exercise patience.
I suspect the reason the pharmacy administered the adult vaccine was overwhelming pressure from parents wanting to get their children vaccinated. Pfizer estimated 11 million vaccines going out in the first ten days after approval. This should let you know that vaccine doses will be abundant for children.
I always urge parents to get vaccinated and also vaccinate their kids because that is the right thing to do in this period. But, in doing so, parents have to exercise patience with their physicians and pharmacy, both of whom have been through so much.
Take an understanding tone when told to wait and come back. Don’t argue with them or force their hands into administering the vaccine. We are all in a war against the vaccine, but healthcare providers are on the frontline. Respect and patience with them are the least we deserve.
Now that I have established that, you should take the vaccine issue as a pressing one. Don’t be lax or carefree about it. Many parents play down the importance of the vaccine because of the narrative that children don’t get sick from the coronavirus. That’s just false. Not only can children get very sick, but they can also die from the virus.
This is why the FDA voted in favor of the vaccine for children, as the benefits far outweigh any risks of taking the vaccine.
In summary, treat vaccination as urgently as possible, but treat pediatricians and pharmacists as respectfully as possible, affording them patience and understanding the decisions they make. Both are not mutually exclusive. Stay safe.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor DO, a Board Certified Internist & Board Eligible Pediatrician, who works as a Hospitalist, and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice Mobile Medicine NJ.
References
· https://baltimore.cbslocal. com/2021/11/04/pediatrician-or-pharmacy-expert-weighs-in-on-how-to-get-a-covid-vaccine-appointment-for-your-child/?amp
· https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2021/11/loudoun-co-pharmacy-gives-adult-covid-19-vaccines-to-kids/amp/
· https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/8574891002
