EDWARDSVILLE - Madison County officials this week discussed the COVID vaccine and if parents should contact their child’s pediatrician before getting the shot. On Friday, the Health Department Committee discussed COVID vaccines for children under 5 years old.
“The big news is that the FDA and CDC gave the green light to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children 6 months to 5 years old,” Chairman Kurt Prenzler said.
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The Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention on June 21, 2022, authorized the vaccine. Prenzler asked the committee if the health department should recommend parents get the advice of their child’s pediatrician before being vaccinated. He said he attended the Health Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday and asked its members the same question.
He said the reason he brought it up was the censorship surrounding COVID, especially when vaccines first became available. Mainstream and social media censored the public as well as physicians who asked questions or had differing opinions, Prenzler said.
“The advisory committee had a very robust discussion,” he said. “All thought it was a good idea for parents to check with a pediatrician. A couple said they didn’t want to create any barriers.
Prenzler thinks it’s a good idea for parents to do a “discount double-check” to make sure the vaccine is right for their child and their medical needs.
Health Department Interim Director Amanda Pruitt said the county received 300 doses of Pfizer (three shots) and 100 doses of Moderna (two shots.)
Board member Victor Valentine of Edwardsville asked if the county was the only agency providing this vaccine.
Pruitt said no, there were a couple of pediatric providers also offering the vaccine. Prenzler said one of things he learned is under federal law pharmacies are not allowed to administer vaccines to children under 3 years old. County Board member Terry Eaker of Bethalto said as the board and as the public health department we have taken a stand where we don’t recommend (the vaccine) either way.
“But, this is something that parents need to talk to their physicians about,” Eaker said.
