Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 has been especially important since the spike of the virus' Omicron variant, and it's a reminder of how essential vaccines are in protecting our children, families and communities.
What to Expect creator Heidi Murkoff recently sat down with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to discuss some of the most common questions parents might have about the COVID-19 vaccine for kids and whether to get vaccinated if you're pregnant.
Here are some highlights from their conversation:
On the COVID-19 vaccine and pregnancy
"If you are pregnant, and you get COVID-19, you already have an increased risk for bad outcomes," says Dr. Murthy.
"It's all the more important for you to get vaccinated if you are pregnant or if you are trying to become pregnant because we have seen that among pregnant women who get COVID-19, their chances of ending up in the hospital or the ICU are significantly higher, and their risk of preterm labor or preterm birth is also higher compared to people who are pregnant and do not get infected with COVID-19. The data points show that the vaccines are safe during these various stages before and during pregnancy."
On the best time to get vaccinated or boosted during pregnancy
"They found generally that anytime during your pregnancy is actually fine [to get the vaccine], and that's why the recommendation is just to get it," explains Dr. Murthy. "Ideally, [you should be vaccinated] as soon as possible because if you get COVID-19 during pregnancy, you are at greater risk for worse outcomes and so is your baby. Getting the protection started early is really important, and this is not just true for COVID-19 vaccines, but for the flu vaccine as well."
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On the importance of getting a booster shot
"If you get boosted, it significantly raises your protection," Dr. Murthy says. "In fact, a recent [CDC] study showed that people who are boosted have 90 percent protection against hospitalization and 82 percent protection against visits to the emergency room or urgent care. That's pretty good as far as vaccines go, but that's why that booster is so important."
On the latest guidelines about masks
"If you’re in your own home, with your family, those are not circumstances that require you to wear a mask," Dr. Murthy says. "If you are outside, let’s say taking a walk or at the park, you also don’t necessarily need to wear a mask. You may want to consider it in an outdoor setting if you’re in crowded quarters for a prolonged period of time. The places that you need masks are in indoor settings. Then the question becomes, 'What kind of mask should I wear?'"
"Here’s where Omicron has shifted things a bit in terms of the importance of wearing a high-quality mask. First, it’s important to recognize that a mask is better than no mask at all. A well-fitted cloth mask will give you some level of protection in an indoor setting. You can increase your level of protection by wearing a surgical mask, and a step above that would be a KN95 mask or a KF94. Masking does two things: It helps prevent infection from traveling from you to someone else, and a good-quality mask can also help protect you from infection that may spread from other people. If you’re in a higher-risk category, it’s important to reach for those higher-quality masks."
On getting children 5 years old and up vaccinated against COVID-19
"We looked at clinical trial data and found ... about 90 percent protection from the COVID-19 vaccine for kids in the 5 to 11 age category," says Dr. Murthy.
"That’s pretty good as far as vaccines go because you don’t always get that high level of protection. But the other thing that we saw was a safety profile. In fact, the common side effect that kids tended to receive was a sore arm at the site of the injection. Other symptoms could include a low-grade fever, body aches and headaches, but those lasted typically one to two days.”
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