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Written by Dr. Bell

Created: 04 November 2021

I want to thank all our Fairview Pediatric families for their patience and understanding of our ever changing office policies and protocols through the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been a trying and difficult time for you and your children with isolation and disrupted schooling. A number of our patients have lost parents and grandparents to this disease. We hope to support our families and patients through this time.

As you may know, the FDA, CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have now approved Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for the 5-11 year olds. If you know me, you know I am all about the vaccines. I have reviewed the studies and data regarding the COVID-19 vaccines and I want to give you, my Fairview families, my personal recommendation for these vaccines for your children.

In the past year and a half I have seen COVID-19 in the office that originally presented as asymptomatic to mild cases in children, but it is now a disease that spreads and infects young people, causing signs and symptoms similar to influenza and worse. With the Delta variant we are having more hospitalizations and severe cases in children.

The vaccine, on the other hand, has shown enormous success in protection. It has been studied and monitored in 16 years and up, 12-15 year olds, and recently data was submitted for 5-11 year olds. In 5-11 year olds, Pfizer has shown to have a 90.7% effectiveness at preventing COVID infection. As you know, any vaccine and medication we administer has potential risks. Through studies of the Pfizer vaccine, we have found a less than 1 in 100,000 risk of self limited myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation, and less than 1 in a million of severe myocarditis requiring hospitalization. To put this risk into context, I have calculated that I have personally given roughly 90,000 vaccines in my 21 year career at Fairview. By these odds I would not have given enough shots for a mild case of myocarditis.

If I have cared for your child, you know I speak to you authentically and personally when I give you advice regarding your child’s health. You should expect nothing less from me or my colleagues and staff. Please listen to me now when I tell you to trust me and to get this vaccine for you and your children. This is the best way to protect our children, yourselves and your loved ones.

We at Fairview Pediatrics will do our utmost to administer as many vaccines as we can in the coming weeks. We are limited by staff and space and the number of vaccines delivered to us. We will do our best to get your child immunized as quickly and safely as possible, and will handle any and all possible side effects or complications. Please be patient (as a patient) and courteous to our staff, as they are just as dedicated as I to your child’s health and well being.

Thank you for your trust and confidence.

Dr. Bell