COVID-19 Vaccine Information
Hilliard Pediatrics' Vaccine Availability
Please note we are required to follow the guidelines set out by the federal government and the state of Ohio with regards to eligibility and clinical indications. There are now two products approved children.
Our current vaccine availability is based on patient age. We are offering the Moderna vaccine for individuals under the age of 5 and the Pfizer vaccine for individuals 5 years of age and older. We are only offering the vaccine to our patients at this time.
Moderna - Approved for ages 6 months of age and older. Our office is only carrying the pediatric dose (age 6 months - 5 years) at this time. For more information on the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, please read the patient fact sheets below or visit their website at: https://eua.modernatx.com/covid19vaccine-eua/recipients/
- 6 months of 5 years of age - A 2-dose primary vaccination series is authorized for Emergency Use in individuals 6 months through 5 years of age. The initial 2 doses are administered at least 1 month apart. A bivalent booster dose is recommneded at least 2 months after the primary series is completed. Moderna Patient Fact Sheet 6 months - 5 years of age
- 6 years - 18 years of age - At this time this vaccine has been authorized for Emergency Use, but is not available for administration.
- 18 years of age and older - A 2-dose vaccination series is FDA-approved for individuals 18 years of age and older. The initial 2 doses are adminstered at least 1 month apart. A booster dose is recommended at least 4 months after the primary series is completed. Moderna Patient Fact Sheet 18 years and older; Moderna Patient Fact Sheet Booster Dose 18 years and older
Pfizer - Approved for 6 months of age and older. Our office is only carrying the Pfizer vaccines approved for 5 - 11 years of age (bivalent boosteronly) and 12 years of age and older (bivalent booster only) at this time. Please note we are no longer stocking the primary series for anyone 5 years of age and older due to decreased demand. We are still carrying the Pfizer bivalent booster for this age group. For more information about Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines, please read the patient fact sheets listed below by formulation or vist their website at https://www.covidvaxoption.com/.
- 6 months - 4 years of age - A 3-dose primary series is authorized for Emergency Use in individuals 6 months through 4 years of age. The initial 2 doses are administered at least 3 weeks apart followed by a third dose administered at least 8 weeks after the second dose. Our office is not carrying this vaccine at this time, but you can receive this vaccine through Nationwide Children's Hospital. Pfizer Patient Fact Sheet 6 months - 4 years of age
- 5 years - 11 years of age - A 2-dose primary series is authorized for Emergency Use in individuals 5-11 years of age. The initial 2 doses are administered at least 3 weeks apart. A bivalent booster dose is recommended at least 2 months after the primary series is completed or the most recent monovalent booster (original formualtion) was administered. Please note, we are no longer stocking the primary series for this age group. Pfizer Patient Fact Sheet 5 - 11 years of age
- 12 -15 years of age - A 2-dose primary series is authorized for Emergency Use in individuals 12 - 15 years of age. The initial 2 doses are administered at least 3 weeks apart. A bivalent booster dose is recommended at least 2 months after the primary series is completed or the most recent monovalent booster (original forumaltion) was administered. Please note, we are no longer stocking the primary series for this age group. Pfizer Patient Fact Sheet 12 years and older
- 16 years of age and older - COMIRNATY® (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) is FDA-approved for individuals 16 years of age and older. A 2-dose primary series is approved for individuals 16 years of age and older. The initial 2 doses are administered at least 3 weeks apart. A bivalent booster dose is recommended at least 2 months after the primary series is completed or the most recent monovalent booster (original forumaltion) was administered. Please note, we are no longer stocking the primary series for this age group. Pfizer Patient Fact Sheet 12 years and older
V-safe After Vaccination Health Checker
Once you get a COVID-19 vaccine, you can enroll in v-safe using your smartphone. V-safe is a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Through v-safe, you can quickly tell CDC if you have any side effects after getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Depending on your answers to the web surveys, someone from CDC may call to check on you and get more information. V-safe will also remind you to get your second COVID-19 vaccine dose if you need one. To sign-up, visit vsafe.cdc.gov.
Parents and guardians can enroll children (ages 5 and older) in v-safe and complete health check-ins on their behalf after COVID-19 vaccination. All adolescents in the family who are eligible to be vaccinated can be enrolled in v-safe. Parents and guardians should use their smartphone to complete a separate v-safe registration for each adolescent. All v-safe communications will be sent to the parent or guardian’s smartphone. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/v-safe-register-dependents.html
Current Vaccine Availability - Appointments Available
Scheduling
Our office is only carrying the Moderna vaccine for individuals 6 months of age through 5 years of age and the Pfizer vaccine for those 5 years of age and older. We have the bivalent booster for both the 5-11 age group and the 12+, but are no longer stocking the 5-11 or 12+ primary series. To schedule an appointment to receive your COVID-19 vaccine, please call our office at 614-777-1800, opt. 2 during normal business hours.
For individuals who are under 18, you will need your parent or legal guardian to consent to you receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. If the child is coming to the appointment alone or with someone that is not the legal guardian, the parent/legal guardian must complete the screening questions and consent prior to the appointment and the child needs to bring the completed form with them to the appointment. COVID Vaccine Screening and Consent Form
If this is your second or booster dose, please bring your vaccination card.
COVID-19 Vaccine Information
Do we recommend kids 6 months - 18 years old get the COVID vaccine?
YES!
Why Should kids get the COVID vaccine?
- Though COVID-19 causes mild illness in most children, some cases of severe disease do occur in children. The vaccine does an amazing job at preventing severe COVID and keeping people out of the hospital/ICU.
- The vaccine can also help kids avoid annoying "long haul" symptoms of COVID.
- Kids are great at spreading germs! By vaccinating our children, we can help stop the continued spread of COVID and help protect those who are more vulnerable.
- If we can continue to decrease the spread of COVID-19 and prevent severe disease, our kids can start returning to normal activities. We want our teens to go to school, play sports, sing the school musical, march in the band, hug their grandparents, and socialize with their friends.
- To avoid a 10-day quarantine! If a fully vaccinated person has an exposure to a person infected with COVID, they do not need to quarantine - just monitor for symptoms.
Is the vaccine safe for kids?
- Yes! Hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccines have been given around the world as these vaccines continue to prove their safety and efficacy. Clinical trials in adolescents involving >2,000 participants show that COVID vaccines are safe and very effective in teenagers as well.
- The current COVID vaccines went through the same testing process and safety evaluation as other childhood vaccines.
Can my child receive a booster dose?
- For the general population, only individuals 5 years of age and above are approved to receive a booster dose at this time. For individuals under 5 years of age, only those that received Moderna are approved to receive a booster dose.
- For those that are over 5 years of age and received either Moderna or Pfizer as the primary series, the bivalent booster is recommended to be given at least 2 months after the primary series was completed or the most recent booster dose was received. The primary series must be completed to receive the bivalent booster.
- For those that are under 5 years of age and received Pfizer as the primary series, a booster dose has not been approved at this time.
- If your child is moderately or severely immunocompromised, it is recommended that they receive an additional primary shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine 28 days after the 2nd shot to complete the initial series. They would then be eligible for a booster dose 5 months after this additional (3rd) primary dose.
Is the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine fully FDA approved?
- Yes and No. The FDA has granted full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to patients 16 years of age and older. This will now be marketed with the name Comirnaty.
- The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is still under EUA (emergency use authorization) from the FDA for patients 6m-15 years old. It will maintain its current name for now.
- It is still the same vaccine for both age groups - there is not a different between the vaccine given to the 12-15 or the 16+ age group, except that it will now have a brand name of Comirnaty for those patients 16 years and older.
- Yes, this is confusing and silly. Yes, the new name is terrible. The bottom line is that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine now has full FDA approval in ages 16 and up, but is still under EUA for ages 5-15 for now.