RICHLAND, Wash. – Students are heading back to school. According to the Pediatric Medical Director at Kadlec Medical Group, it’s essential to ensure your kids are updated on their vaccines. The start of the school year is an excellent time to think about making sure your kids stay healthy, and back-to-school wellness visits are crucial as the cough and cold seasons begin.
Dr. Aaron Richardson, the Pediatric Medical Director for Kadlec Medical Group, says the big goal of these vaccines is to reduce the number of days that kids have to miss school. Typically, during these wellness checks, doctors will ensure the child is physically and emotionally healthy and look through their immunizations to see if they are up to date.
“They prepare our immune system to encounter different viruses and bacteria in our environment,” Dr. Richardson said. “So they’re prepping our immune system so that when we encounter things, we’re well prepared to fight off the illness without it being severe.”
Dr. Richardson says the vaccines don’t change from year to year; it is just the strain of the vaccine. He also recommends that kids get flu shots and updated COVID-19 shots if available.
Flu season could also bring a spike in COVID cases, with the FDA recently approving the newest seasonal vaccine. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the new vaccine targets the KP.2 strain, which accounts for roughly three percent of all U.S. cases.
Pfizer and Moderna say their vaccines can produce stronger immune responses against other subvariants. The CDC recommends everyone over six months old get an updated COVID-19 vaccine this year. Dr. Richardson said the COVID-19 vaccine works like the flu vaccine. It’s updated to battle the current strain that is making its rounds. Dr. Richardson says we can expect the vaccine in the next few weeks.
“We recommend getting those early in the season, September or October, as it’s the public health initiative, and we push to try to have everyone receive those vaccines by November,” he said. ” We can certainly still offer it throughout the winter.”
Dr. Richardson said it is essential to get updated on COVID-19 and flu vaccines and reminds parents that the flu is a significant source of hospitalizations for young kids. Regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Richardson says they can administer it at the same time as other routine vaccinations.
Dr. Richardson says the side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine are less now than those from previous COVID-19 vaccines, but there is always the potential for side effects.
