Why Children and Teens Should Get Vaccinated for COVID-19

While COVID-19 tends to be milder in children compared to adults, children can:

• Get very sick from COVID-19
• Have both short and long-term health complications from COVID-19
• Spread COVID-19 to others

Children with underlying medical conditions are more at risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared with children without underlying medical conditions. Children who get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can also develop serious complications like multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C)—a condition where different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.

Help Protect Your Child, Your Family, and Others

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine can help protect children ages 5 years and older from getting COVID-19.

• Vaccinating children can help protect family members, including siblings who are not eligible for vaccination and family members who may be at increased risk of getting very sick if they are infected.
• Vaccination can also help keep children from getting seriously sick even if they do get COVID-19.
• Vaccinating children ages 5 years and older can help keep them in school and help them safely participate in sports, playdates, and other group activities.

Help protect your whole family and slow the spread of COVID-19 in your community by getting yourself and your children ages 5 years and older vaccinated against COVID-19.

COVID-19 Vaccines Are Safe for Children and Teens

Scientists have conducted clinical trials with about 3,000 children and the FDA has determined that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has met the safety and efficacy standards for authorization in children ages 5 through 15 years. Learn more about the process of developing, authorizing, and approving COVID-19 vaccines.

The benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks.

COVID-19 vaccines are being monitored for safety with the most comprehensive and intense safety-monitoring program in U.S. history. CDC monitors the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines after the vaccines are authorized or approved for use, including the risk of myocarditis in children ages 5 through 11 years.

• Your child may get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, including flu vaccine, at the same time.
• Serious health events after COVID-19 vaccination are rare.
• Cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the outer lining of the heart) have been reported after Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination of children ages 12–17 years. These reactions are rare; in one study, the risk of myocarditis after the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech in the week following vaccination was around 54 cases per million doses administered to males ages 12–17 years.
• A severe allergic reaction, like anaphylaxis, may happen after any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines, but this is rare.
• Your child cannot get COVID-19 from any COVID-19 vaccine, including the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine. Learn more about how mRNA vaccines, like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, work.
• There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause fertility problems.

If you have questions or concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, we encourage you to speak with your child’s provider.

Preparing Children and Teens for Vaccination

The experience of getting a COVID-19 vaccine will be very similar to the experience of getting routine vaccines. Here are a few tips to support your child before, during, and after their COVID-19 vaccine

Before & During Vaccination

Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for children ages 5 and above. This vaccine includes two doses; the second shot will be administered three weeks after the first shot.

• Talk to your child before vaccination about what to expect.
• It is not recommended you give pain relievers before vaccination to try to prevent side effects.
• Tell the doctor or nurse about any allergies your child may have.
• To prevent fainting and injuries related to fainting, your child should be seated or lying down during vaccination and for 15 minutes after the vaccine is given.
• After your child’s COVID-19 vaccination, you will be asked to stay for 15–30 minutes so your child can be observed in case they have a severe allergic reaction and need immediate treatment.

After Vaccination

Your child may have some side effects, which are normal signs that their body is building protection.

• On the arm where your child got the shot, they may experience pain, redness or swelling.
• Throughout the rest of their body, they may experience tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea.

These side effects may affect your child’s ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days. Some people have no side effects and severe allergic reactions are rare. If your child experiences a severe allergic reaction after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine providers can rapidly provide care and call for emergency medical services, if needed.