Updated Sept. 9, 2022

Why Vaccination is Important for Children and Teens

Vaccination is a key measure to protect everyone, especially those who are at high risk, from COVID-19. Children are generally at lower risk for severe illness from COVID-19. However, children can still get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, spread it to others, become very ill, and experience other complications including multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a condition that causes different organs to become inflamed, and “long COVID.”

COVID-19 vaccination for children 6 months and older has many benefits, such as

• Helping prevent kids from getting really sick with COVID-19—while no vaccine is 100% effective, getting vaccinated can help prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death if they do get sick
• Protecting vulnerable family members or younger siblings who are not eligible for vaccination
• Fewer sick days and less time off from school, sports, and other activities

Vaccination not only protects your child, but also helps protect your family, the kids in your child’s classroom and the community. While children who have underlying medical conditions may be more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19, children without underlying conditions may also experience severe illness. Approximately 1 in 3 children younger than 18 years old who were hospitalized for COVID-19 have no underlying conditions.

Learn more

• Washington State Department of Health Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccines: What Parents/Guardians Should Know
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Why Vaccinate Children and Teens

The Vaccine is Safe for Children

The FDA has determined that the COVID-19 vaccines available to children in the United States meet the safety and efficacy standards for emergency use authorization (EUA) for these age groups, finding that the benefits of the vaccines outweigh the known and potential risks, and serious health events after COVID-19 vaccination have been rare. The FDA and CDC continue to monitor the vaccines’ safety.

• Learn more about the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines clinical trials
• Learn more about the Novavax vaccine clinical trials
• Learn more about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines

Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)

An EUA makes it possible for the FDA to provide vaccines as soon as possible during an emergency while still conducting a thorough review of data collected from clinical trials. The Pfizer vaccine has already received full FDA approval for individuals ages 16 and older, and the Moderna vaccine has received full approval for use in people ages 18 and older.

As with other EUAs, the EUAs granted for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were also reviewed by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.

• CDC Recommends Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine for Children 5 to 11 Years (Pfizer)
• CDC Recommends COVID-19 Vaccines for Young Children
• CDC Recommends Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for Children and Adolescents
• Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup finds Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are safe and effective for children as young as 6 months old

Sources

“COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and Teens,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last modified June 19, 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/children-teens.html.

“Vaccinating Youth,” Washington State Department of Health, last modified June 27, 2022, https://www.doh.wa.gov/emergencies/covid19/vaccineinformation/vaccinatingyouth.