While taking the kids to the doctor or clinic for back-to-school-vaccinations may not be anyone’s idea of a good time, parents who take care of it early will save themselves a lot of time and hassle in the long run.
That’s according to Brownsville pediatrician Dr. Asim Zamir, who said he implores parents of K-12 and college-bound children each year to not to put it off, but that many do anyway, in some cases because they’re out of town on vacation.
“A week before schools starts, I can tell you, we get packed,” he said. “It’s unbelievable how many people just wait for the last minute. … It’s good to get it done early, your back-to-school shopping, your vaccinations, your sports physicals. This way you’ll be good on the first day when you go back.”
Now, in addition to the usual vaccinations for things like meningitis, measles and mumps, as of June 17 children as young as 6 months are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for COVID-19 vaccinations as well, Zamir said. That fills an important gap, since preschool-age kids are vulnerable to catching the virus, especially with the newer, highly transmissible variants, and spreading it to their older siblings and adult members of the household, he said.
“We saw tremendous turnout in the first two weeks,” Zamir said.
His practice, Brownsville Children’s Clinic, is scheduling its vaccine orders so that working parents are able to come in on the weekends with their children, he said.
Zamir, who is also chief of pediatrics for Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville and affiliated with Valley Regional Medical Center, said he’s had to assure some parents that, contrary to what they’ve read on the internet, the COVID vaccine won’t make their children sterile or cause other horrible side-effects — despite what the conspiracy theorists claim. No vaccine does those things, Zamir said.
Just as with adults, children may experience minor side-effects such as chills or low-grade fever, he said.
“Most of what we have seen is complaint of pain at the injection site in the younger ones,” Zamir said. “It’s been doing very good. It’s very effective and safe.”
Even if a child catches COVID after getting the shot, being vaccinated dramatically reduces the chances that child will become sick enough to require hospitalization, a situation that has improved immensely since last year, he said.
“Last year my hospitalization in both my hospitals were twice as much as this year,” Zamir said. “Last year we saw so many little babies bronchiolitis and respiratory distress and croup, which is another respiratory distress problem.”
Meanwhile, the Rio Grande Valley has the highest COVID immunization rate in the state, he said, describing that fact as “pretty amazing.”
“Now parents have peace of mind,” Zamir said.
“Get the things done otherwise you’ll spend more time in doctors offices or clinics and have less time for back-to-school shopping,” Zamir said.
