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Episode 41: COVID Vaccine + Kids: A Rapid Fire Q+A with Dr. Krupa Playforth

Today’s guest, Dr. Krupa Playforth, answers questions surrounding a current hot topic: Children and the Covid-19 vaccine. Given the recent announcement of the Pfizer vaccine for 5-12 year olds, I have been getting many questions on this subject. For that reason, we are doing a rapid Q&A session with Dr. Playforth to answer your questions.  

The information she provides is truly invaluable because as she mentions, children deserve to have play dates and experience “normal” life again. 

Dr Playforth is a board-certified pediatrician and mother of 3 in Northern VA. She has special interests in healthcare education for parents and in infant/child nutrition, and she is passionate about approaching parenting with nuance. Her goal is to help parents develop the confidence to trust their intuitions within an evidence-based framework across a range of parenting topics. Dr Playforth is on the Healthcare Advisory board for Babylist, has contributed to Huffington Post, CNN, NBC, KevinMD, and Insider Magazine, and is featured as a Top Doc for both Northern VA Magazine and the Washingtonian.

In this episode we discuss:

• The efficacy behind the research of pediatric Covid trials in children
• How the vaccine differs in children and adults
• Why children should get vaccinated as a part of a low-risk population 
• Risks of the Covid virus verse risks of the Covid vaccine

Resources:

• CHOP Researchers Find Elevated Biomarker Realted to Blood Vessel Damage in Children with SARS-CoV-2
• CNN: Rollout of Vaccines for 5-12 year olds

Connect with Dr. Playforth:

• Website: https://www.thepediatricianmom.com/
• Instagram: @thepediatricianmom
• Facebook: @thepediatricianmom

Connect with Lynzy:

• Join the Motherhood Meets Medicine community at patreon.com/motherhoodmeetsmedicine
• Instagram: @motherhoodmeetsmedicine
• Sign up for the weekly newsletter here

Questions Asked In The Episode:

1. How was the research done and what were the results for the Covid vaccine and children?
2. What is the suggested dosage for children 12 and older?
3. Are they thinking of adjusting the dosage for children around 12?
4. What were some of the most common side effects in children?
5. What do you think about the sample size in the pediatric research study?
6. Why vaccinate a population that isn’t necessarily having a significant amount of long-term effects or deaths?
7. Should we be concerned about myocarditis popping up in the younger population?
8. How do you respond to people who have had Covid and don’t think they need to get vaccinated?
9. How do you measure the risk of long-term effects when we don’t have the long-term data?
10.  What’s the timeline looking for the vaccine for children younger than 5?
11.  Is it safe to get the Covid and flu vaccine at the same time?
12.  What are your thoughts on children needing boosters in the future?
13.  Do you think the length of time between the first and second vaccine will increase?
14.  How long after having Covid would you recommend for a child to have a vaccine?
15.  Do you suggest children that are considered small for their age to get the vaccine?