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Coastal Georgia parents of children ages 5-to-11 weigh choice to get COVID vaccine or not

Savannah Morning News - 12/23/2021

Dec. 23—As soon as the COVID-19 vaccine became available for children ages 5 to 11, the Rev. Ben Gosden of Trinity United Methodist Church took his daughter to get vaccinated at the Apollo Pharmacy on Broughton Street.

"Yeah, I am really happy that kids can get it now," 9-year-old Oliva Gosden said.

In November, the FDA and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer/Biotech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The Moderna and Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have not been approved for children ages 5 to 11.

As Savannah-area schools ready to open on Jan. 4 after a two-week holiday break, several area parents are making the choice to vaccinate their children, while others have not.

The Georgia Department of Health Coastal Health District and health agencies began offering the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 on Nov. 4.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, data on the children who received the vaccine are broken up into up into two age groups: 5 to 9 and 10 to 14. Statewide 83,766 or 12% of children ages 5 to 9 have received the COVID-19 vaccine, while 246,131 or 34,5% of children ages 10 to 14 have received the vaccine.

The data is from Nov. 4 to Dec. 23.

In Chatham County, 1,838 or 10.8% of children ages 5 to 9 have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 5,913 or 34.5% of children ages 10 to 14 have received at least one dose.

In Bryan County, 234 or 7.8% of children ages 5 to 9 have received at least one dose and 824 of 26.4% of children ages 10 to 14 have received at least one dose.

In Effingham County, 194 or 4.4% of children ages 5 to 9 have receive at least one dose and 936 or 20.4% children between the ages 10 to 14 have received at lease one dose.

Pastor Gosden is one of those parents who is doing their part.

"It's a no brainier for us and it makes us feel great," Pastor Gosden said.

He said the reason why he and his family decided to get the vaccine is because his wife works in health care. He said another reason was because his daughter doesn't want to keep wearing a mask in school and wanted to see her grandparents without the worry of getting them sick.

Pastor Gosden said once the vaccine is approved for children younger than 5, he will take his 4-year-old to get vaccinated.

"For us, a little protection is better than no protection," he said. "It is just a matter of caring for each other."

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, children have to receive the following vaccines before starting school:

— Tdap: four or five does, if fourth dose is after fourth birthday, a fifth dose is needed.

— Polio: three or four, fourth dose on or after fourth birthday, required for children born on or after Jan. 1, 2006.

— MMR: two doses.

— Hepatitis B: three doses.

— Varicella: two doses.

— Hib: Required for child care or Pre-K only.

— PCV: Required for child care and Pre-K only.

— Hepatitis A: two doses required for children born after Jan. 1, 2006.

Pastor Gosden said he and his family have received the required vaccines, as well as the flu vaccine.

"We are very much pro-vaccine," he said.

Pastor Gosden said he feels more comfortable going out into the world after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Another parent, Dana Felty Bynum, recently took her children ages 6 and 9 to get the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a clinic at Costal Pediatrics on 2 Wheeler St. in Savannah.

"We were so excited that kids could get the vaccine because we have been pretty cautious," Bynum said. "They (sons) have had a really hard time..., they are outgoing, social little guys. We felt that with the vaccine it would be OK to step out a little bit more in the public then we had before."

She said getting the vaccine outweighs the cost of getting the virus.

"We think vaccines work," she said. "I am seeing a lot of medical news daily, and I am really comfortable with the vaccine."

Bynum said she and her husband have both received the COVID-19 shot and felt that it was safe because they didn't have a reaction.

"A lot about what we know about vaccines is if family members seem to take it pretty well; it's likely that the kids will do well, too, because they don't have any other underlining health issues," she said.

Bynum said her children have had the required vaccines for school.

She has explained to her sons that getting the vaccine is not just for them, but for the community. Bynum said a vaccine helps to reduce the spread of the virus and prevents someone getting sick.

"We are going to get this ouchie in our arm to also prevent your grandparents, sweet neighbors and teachers from getting sick," she said to her sons.

Nadine Chapman, who lives in Effingham County, said she and her children are not planning to get the COVID-19 vaccine. She has a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old who attend schools in the Effingham County School District.

Chapman said she would be more comfortable letting her kids get the vaccine if there was at least two years of information or a study that was done on the vaccine.

"For us, for me, there is not enough information that shows what the vaccine is going to do to the body over an extended period of time," she said.

She said her kids get the mandatory vaccines for school, but not the flu shot. Chapman said she trusts the mandatory vaccines because she had them as a child.

"Those are the vaccines that I had as a child, so if I had it as a child and my husband had it as a child, then in our heads it's OK for our kids to get them."

Chapman said there is no need for her to get the COVID-19 vaccine because she has had COVID-19 twice and has built up an immunity.

"I feel like my kids are safe," she said. "I am not going to live in fear of COVID-19."

"Everyone still needs the vaccine regardless of their past infection status," said Epidemiologist Jessica Schwind, assistant professor of public health at Georgia Southern University at the Armstrong campus.

She said there are not only individual benefits in receiving a vaccine, but also it benefits the community in reducing the spread.

"There are also population benefits and to really recognize that kids are such an integral part of the community, and as such, can contribute to the community transmission of COVID-19 or community spread," she said. "Both in the household and in school settings."

She said a benefit of kids receiving the vaccine is the ability to have in-person instruction in school. She said something like a vaccine is one tool that can help stop a disease.

"We are in a state of public health emergency and COVID-19 is a novel pathogen in our population, which means, in many cases, cause disease and death," she said.

She said having a vaccine is a better choice than relying on natural immunity. Schwind stated that a natural immunity is a person, who has had a past infection and would have had symptoms from a virus.

She said having a vaccine immunity means the immune system has been built to recognize the COVID-19 vaccine.

She said a vaccine strengthens an individual's immune system and provides protection for different variants of a virus. She also said that with any vaccine, there could be potential side effects.

In relation to children, she said, even though children are less likely to get the virus, they can still get the virus.

Schwind said she would encourage those with concerns about the vaccine talk with a medical professional, a doctor or someone at a local health department.

"I encourage people to get their questions answered by experts in the field," she said.

Bianca Moorman is the education reporter. Reach her at BMoorman@gannett.com or 912-239-7706. Find her on Twitter @biancarmoorman.

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