Arkansas kids brace for childhood vaccine questions / Public News Service

The Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines were cleared over the weekend for use in children under five by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Parents likely have questions, and at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, healthcare professionals are gearing up to answer them.

The FDA said both vaccines are likely to protect children under five from serious COVID-related illness, hospitalization and death. For the week ending June 9, children accounted for nearly 14% of reported weekly COVID cases.

Dr. Jessica Snowden, division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, thinks the expanded access could help reduce cases.

“There are a lot of kids developing ‘long COVID’ syndrome that we’re still trying to figure out how to treat and prevent,” Snowden pointed out. “So far, the only thing we know that lowers your chances of getting it is getting vaccinated. For many parents, this is going to be an important step in protecting their children as we navigate through the pandemic. “

Parents are advised to consult their child’s pediatrician and take other health precautions to prevent the spread of any virus, from covering coughs and sneezes to ‘masking’ if local guidelines suggest so. As of June 2, more than 400 deaths of children under four were COVID-related, according to the CDC.

For parents deciding if the vaccine is a good decision for their young children, Snowden pointed to his own experience as a parent and doctor, seeing children who have been in the intensive care unit with long-term COVID symptoms. term.

“Especially knowing that we don’t have good treatments for this virus yet; it’s not like an ear infection, where I can give you antibiotics, and you’ll be fine,” Snowden pointed out. “If your child gets sick, there are limited things we can do to help them. If I can help a family avoid this, vaccination is the best way to do it.”

Pfizer’s vaccine will be offered to children aged six months to four years, while Moderna’s is for children aged six months to five years.

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School is restarting for children and teachers in Idaho, and community members and parents can help keep the focus on the positive experiences.

Kim Hemmert, grants manager at the Idaho Children’s Trust Fund, said there are four basic building blocks adults can engage children in to ensure healthy outcomes from positive experiences, or HOPE — an acronym used by children. child welfare advocates.

She said the first block is relationships.

“Every child really needs a person in their life who is this strong champion for that child,” Hemmert said, “this secure, stable, nurturing relationship.”

The other three are a safe, stable and nurturing environment; community involvement; and social and emotional learning.

Hemmert said there are exercises to help children focus on these components. For example, teachers can ask students to share their favorite memory of summer, engaging these four basic elements.

“It helps establish and remember who those trusting relationships are,” Hemmert said. “It’s already in this safe, stable and nurturing environment in the classroom. You share the memory of your engagement with the community. And it allows students to be able to articulate and communicate those emotions.”

Other examples include returning students showing new students the “school rules”.

Schools can also welcome families and children into the classroom a few weeks before the start of the year so that children can familiarize themselves with school and reduce their nervousness on the first day.

Hemmert said schools are a good place to reflect on positive experiences.

“For a lot of kids, going back to school comes down to a very structured environment,” Hemmert said, “and often kids do well with structure.”

The first day of school varies across Idaho. Boise started Wednesday and Nampa starts today, while other districts will start closer to Labor Day.

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New Hampshire ranks second in the nation in measures of child well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s new Kids Count 2022 data book.

The Granite State scores well in economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors. However, researchers also found an increase in rates of suicide attempts nationwide, particularly among college students of color or LGBTQ youth.

In New Hampshire, said Emma Sevigny, children’s behavioral health policy coordinator at New Futures, a nonprofit health advocacy organization in Concord, said the new health hotline mental 988 is linked to local crisis intervention services.

“And with that we have a rapid response team that is available to provide support to children in their communities,” she said, “so if we can improve that system and ensure there is funding sustainability is a huge step in the right direction.”

The report ranked New Hampshire fourth in education, but it falls to seventh in the number of 3- and 4-year-olds not attending preschool. Sevigny said she would like to see more grants to help parents pay for preschool.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president for external affairs at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said she would like to see Congress renew the extended child tax credit that has increased the bottom line for low-income families during the pandemic, but was allowed to expire.

“It is critically important that policy makers seize the opportunity and lessons learned during the COVID-19 period, when more resources have been provided to families, so that we can ensure that every child has their basic needs met,” said she said, “that fewer children live in poverty, and that the overall well-being of children in this country increases.”

In next year’s legislative session, state lawmakers will decide whether to reauthorize Medicaid expansion, a lifeline for many struggling families.

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Massachusetts ranks first in the nation for child well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2022 Kids Count Data Book.

Experts have given Bay State high marks for alleviating poverty and improving educational achievement. However, the report also found an increase of more than 50% in the number of children aged 3 to 17 suffering from anxiety or depression between 2016 and 2020, almost double the national average.

Mary McGeown, executive director of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, said the state faces a shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds.

“Every day there are hundreds of children in need of hospital care, who have gone to the emergency room asking for help,” she said, “and they are waiting there for days, weeks. and sometimes months to get access to a bed.”

Gov. Charlie Baker signed a comprehensive mental health bill into law on Wednesday that sets up a scorecard to manage psychiatric beds, invests in school-based behavioral health and more.

McGeown gave Massachusetts’ highest overall score to its success in ensuring that nearly all children are covered by health insurance, as well as targeted supports for schools and low-income families during the pandemic.

Leslie Boissière, vice president for external affairs at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said the country’s recovery remains highly uneven, with continued economic challenges in both heavily urban and rural areas.

“Adopting policies that we know can lift children out of poverty and can also provide financial security for low-income families,” she said. “Things like expanding the child tax credit. Putting resources in the hands of low-income families, so they can provide the basic needs of their children.”

The report recommends expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, which provides cash assistance to low-income families.

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