COVID-19 News and Updates

Hello all,

Nina Duggan here with the latest COVID-19 news and updates. This week brings more information regarding talking to parents about getting their child vaccinated and news regarding the headlines surrounding the pediatric vaccine.

COVID Communication:

Talking to parents about vaccination

According to a recent poll, roughly one-third of parents say that they plan/planned to get their child vaccinated immediately as soon as they are eligible, with the remainder taking a more cautionary “wait and see” approach or not planning on getting their children vaccinated at all.

With the decrease in cases, relaxing of safety measures, and reports of waning efficacy in the 5-11 year old vaccine (elaborated on in the next section) it’s easy for parents to feel that the pandemic is over or that there is no more cause for immunization. However, with low national vaccination rates in children under 11 years of age and children still representing roughly 20% of weekly reported COVID cases, it is still crucial to take safety measures and get children vaccinated to protect them from disease.

The CDC and the Journal of the American Medical Association, among others, provide very useful information below on hesitancy and how to talk to parents about vaccinating children.

Useful sources for vaccine advocates:

• AMA “What doctors wish parents knew about kids’ COVID-19 vaccine and safety”

• Johns Hopkins Medicine “COVID Vaccine: What Parents Need to Know”

• JAMA “Why Parents Still Hesitate to Vaccinate Their Children Against COVID-19”

• CDC “Talking to Parents about Vaccines”

• AAP “Children and COVID-19: State-Level Data Report”

• Healthy Children “Ask the Pediatrician: COVID-19 Roundup”

• Greater Than COVID “The Conversation: Kids and the COVID-19 Vaccines”

COVID in the News:

State of COVID-19 in Maine

Case trends in Maine continue to look optimistic, with Maine now out of the red risk zone and down into the orange zone. As of today, no new cases and no new deaths were reported, with 116 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 25 in critical care statewide. 

Pfizer efficacy in 5-11 year olds explained

Many COVID-19 headlines this past week have been discussing the news around waning efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine in 5-11 year olds. This is reasonably concerning for parents, and with overall child vaccination rates low (roughly 26% of 5-11 year olds having received their second dose nationwide) it is important to lay out all of the information.

The analysis in question compared the vaccine efficacy after one month in 12-17 year olds vs the 5-11 year olds group. It showed that after the first month, effectiveness against infection in the 5-11 age group dropped from 65% to 12%, and efficacy against hospitalization dropped from 100% to 43%.

However, there are limitations to the data and the way it was presented that have some experts still conflicted on the results, as this is data from a single study that is quite new and has yet to be peer-reviewed. 

The limitations of the data to keep in mind are:

• Overall numbers of hospitalizations in 5-11 year olds are small, likely meaning we are underestimating the efficacy of the vaccine against severe disease.

• With Omicron, it is difficult to separate decreased efficacy from immune evasion by the new variant.

• In this specific study, it is unknown how behavior around testing varied between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.

• The risks of COVID-19 induced MIS-C and long COVID were not assessed in this data, and as such it does not reflect the vaccine’s efficacy in preventing both in children.

Regardless, experts theorize that the reported waning protection from the vaccine could be due to:

• The lower dosage of the vaccine compared to older children and adults

• Non-optimal dosage intervals

• The increased virulence of the Omicron variant

• Some combination of the above factors

It is also important to note that we do not know if the cases reported in the study were symptomatic or not, and that even though protection against infection waned, protection against severe disease requiring hospitalizations remained high. 

The final take aways from this study are:

• More data is needed to draw firm conclusions regarding the pediatric vaccine

• Dosages in the 5-11 year old age group will likely have to be re-assessed

• A booster will likely be needed for this age group as well

Keeping all of this in mind, it is still vitally important to get 5-11 year olds vaccinated to reduce the risk of severe disease should they become infected.

Links and Sources: American Association of Pediatrics on Child COVID-19 Vaccination Trends, Check out the reporting done on this by Science Whiz Liz and Unambiguous Science for more on the study here.

Featured in the Field:

Healthy Oxford Hills

This week highlighting another Maine organization, Healthy Oxford Hills is a local community coalition project of the Stephens Memorial Hospital. Primarily serving the Oxford county area, they have been putting out all around fantastic resources and information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Check out their Facebook and the excellent COVID-19 section of their website.

Thanks again everyone for checking in this week. Stay safe, and remember to take care of each other. ~ Nina

Nina Duggan is Healthy Acadia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Project Coordinator. They share weekly updates about COVID-19 in the state of Maine and beyond, along with resources you may find useful on testing, vaccination, and best practices in preventative measures. 

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If you or anyone you know have questions or concerns about COVID-19 or the available vaccines please call or text our COVID-19 Peer Support Line at 207-271-6023, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.