Pharmacist Sima Manifar prepares a children’s dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic in Kansas in 2021. — AP Photo/Charles Krupa/File
by Sherry Stone, Philadephia Tribune Staff Writer
The Centers for Disease Control is recommending that people six months of age and older get an updated COVID-19 shot, even if a person has been previously vaccinated.
Dr. Katie Lockwood, of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is reminding parents to get their family the new COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it is available. Her recommendation comes as physicians have seen a recent increase of about 25% in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Pennsylvania.
“While COVID-19 can be seen year round, we see the most hospitalizations in the fall and winter,” she said. “The new vaccine is expected by the end of August or early September. Getting the vaccine when it is available will prevent children from being at greater risk of COVID when symptoms begin to rise.”
The Philadelphia Department of Health responded to the increase in hospital COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania by distributing free COVID-19 test kits this past week at Bethany Baptist Church, 5747 Warrington Ave. in Southwest Philadelphia and at the Mi Salud Wellness Center, 200 E Wyoming Ave.
Lockwood said there has been a slight increase in positivity lately, although not as often as in the past. More children have come into CHOP with COVID symptoms in the past month or so, she said.
“However, there may be even more children testing positive, since more people are doing at-home COVID tests and sometimes they are staying at home if the symptoms can be managed at home,” she said.
“Getting the vaccine helps to prevent hospitalization and mortality and protects against lung COVID, which is relatively uncommon in children,” Lockwood added. “The last COVID vaccine targeted the Omicron strain of the virus, and the updated vaccine addresses the JN.1 lineage. We try to refresh the vaccine to address whatever we are seeing this year.”
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Philadelphia, there were 886 admissions to Philadelphia hospitals due to COVID-19 symptoms during the week of Jan. 2, 2022, alone.
About 613 were admitted to Philadelphia hospitals with COVID the week of Nov. 22, 2020, according to Philadelphia Health Department Statistics.
While the COVID-19 pandemic was declared over in May 2023, the Philadelphia Health Department has recorded 13 new COVID hospital cases in the area during the week of July 14 and two more on July 28.
Lockwood said the same is true for the flu vaccine, which has also been updated, and can be taken at the same time as the COVID vaccine this fall. Both vaccines are especially suggested for high-risk children and children with compromised immune systems.
“COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying,” said Sharleta Stamps, public affairs specialist for the CDC. “The vaccination remains the safest strategy for avoiding hospitalizations, long-term health outcomes, and death. The CDC recommends that everyone take steps to protect themselves and others from COVID-19. It’s important to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. On June 27, CDC recommended that everyone 6 months and older receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine when they become available this fall.”
According to the ACME Markets Pharmacy in Bala Cynwyd, the new COVID vaccine from Moderna, Novax and Pfizer has not yet been released and is awaiting FDA approval.
People with COVID may experience mild or more severe symptoms ranging from fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea, according to Stamps.
According to the CDC, symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms may start as mild, and some people will progress to more severe symptoms.
“In 2023, more than 916,300 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and more than 75,500 people died from COVID-19,” Stamps said. “Data continues to show the importance of vaccination to protect against severe outcomes of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death.
“To date, hundreds of millions of people have safely received a COVID-19 vaccine under the most intense vaccine safety monitoring in United States history,” she added.
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This article originally appeared in the Philadelphia Tribune
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