COVID-19 Youth Vaccinations

Dr. Luigi Cendana discusses questions and concerns parents might have now that the vaccine is authorized for 12+.
COVID-19 Youth Vaccinations
Featuring:
Luigi Cendana, D.O.
Dr. Luigi Cendana is a board certified general pediatrician who provides care for infants, children and adolescents for the community of Ridgecrest, California. Dr. Cendana was born in West Covina, California, and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey since the age of seven. He earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University with concentrations in the fields of nutritional sciences and biochemistry. Shortly thereafter, he spent 8 months in the Philippines providing volunteer work at a charity hospital for the poor.

Upon his return stateside in 2009, he started medical school at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. During his time at medical school, he served on several leadership positions including Student Council President, representing his fellow colleagues on a national level and attended national AOA conventions as a delegate for the New Jersey Osteopathic Associations of Physicians and Surgeons.

Following medical school, he entered pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital at Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, Florida. Since completion, he has been serving Palm Beach and Brevard counties in Florida as an outpatient Pediatrician and Pediatric Hospitalist, respectively. In 2017, Dr. Cendana joined the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital staff as a hospitalist and outpatient pediatrician. Since 2019, Dr. Cendana has been providing care at the North Medical Campus Pediatric Center. Dr. Cendana’s hobbies include tennis, sipping a cup of coffee with a book in his hand, sharing a laugh and capturing moments in photographs.
Transcription:

Prakash Chandran: This Ridgecrest Regional Hospital COVID-19 podcast was recorded on June 10th, 2021.

COVID-19 vaccines are available for anyone over the age of 16, but there are still questions around what's available for younger children and if vaccinating children in general is safe. We're going to talk about it today with Dr. Luigi Cendana, a pediatrician at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital's Rural Health Pediatrics Clinic.  

This is the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital podcast. My name is Prakash Chandran. So first of all, Dr. Cendana, it's great to have you here today. I wanted to start by asking, can children get the COVID-19 vaccine? And if so, which one can they receive?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: Well, thank you so much for having me. Recently, the children can get the COVID-19 vaccine. It has been approved by the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics for children greater than 12 years of age. And the particular vaccination that they can receive is the Pfizer vaccine. They have received the emergency use authorization. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are for 18 and up. And of note, Moderna has been seeking for EUA for children ages 12 and up.

Prakash Chandran: Okay. That's good to know. And so I'm sure a lot of parents might be listening to this and wondering is the COVID-19 vaccine safe for my child?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: I think we should probably spend quite a bit of time on this particular question, because this is a question that I get asked to repeatedly, and it's very important for our families. So yes, the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and, most importantly, very effective. It is important for the families to know that though the vaccine is being used currently, it is continuously being monitored by independent groups and by the CDC and FDA for adverse side effects, the most common of that being pain at the injection site, fever, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Anaphylaxis can occur, but is a rare occurrence as well. Here in our facility, we do ask patients to stay for about 15 to 30 minutes.

I do also want to mention that parents and the community may have heard that there had been reports of myocarditis and pericarditis in adolescents after receiving the COVID-19 vaccines. And that is continuously being looked into and the CDC is aware and we still believe that obtaining the vaccine for adolescents far outweighs the benefits and the risks of this condition.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah, that totally makes sense to me. You know, one of the things that I've heard from people is that children or adolescents in this demographic typically are a little bit more protected from the effects of COVID-19. So, because of that reason, is it still necessary to get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: You know, the current indicates that children less than 10 years of age are less likely to become infected and also less likely to spread infection to others, while adolescents are likely to spread COVID as efficiently as adults. There has been some troubling evidence that there is an increase in numbers of adolescents being admitted to the hospital for COVID-19-related diseases. So it is important that we try to contain the disease from spreading further.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. And it's not just about the protection of the adolescent or the child itself. It's about the broader population, because to your point, they become carriers. So even if they're not exhibiting symptoms or anything, they could pass it on to someone who might be a little bit more susceptible, wouldn't you say?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: Absolutely. We must protect our vulnerable populations. And for those individuals who can not get the vaccine especially those, currently anyway, less than 12 years of age and especially the infant group or children less than two years of age who, if they were to get COVID-19, are more likely to be hospitalized. And of course, we must think about the pediatric populations who suffer from asthma or who are immunocompromised, who have a greater risk of complications.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. And speaking of those that are more at risk, are there any special cases where children might receive the vaccine before 12 years old?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: To my knowledge, there are no particular indications or special considerations to receive the vaccine earlier than the current recommended age of 12 and up, in spite of say patients who may have, like I mentioned, asthma or immunosuppression or cardiovascular risk factors and disease.

Prakash Chandran: Okay. That's good to know. So just expanding on that a little bit, there's going to be children or adolescents with chronic diseases. And I think some parents listening to this might be concerned about them getting the vaccine because of the potential side effects and what it might do to their health. Can you maybe speak to this a little bit?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: Sure. So it is important that these children who may have chronic conditions to be protected from COVID-19 complications as adolescents and patients who have these chronic diseases are more likely, like I said, to be hospitalized. In fact, approximately 23% of children who are infected with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 have an underlying condition. So we know that these individuals are more likely to be hospitalized. And we need to consider the burden that may cause not only for the child, but for the family and for society.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah, absolutely. One of the other things that I wanted to ask is once a child gets vaccinated, is It still possible for them to contract COVID-19?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: It is still possible for them to get infected by COVID-19. But what I love to tell parents is this is very similar the way that I look at it in terms of the influenza vaccination. We know that children who get the influenza vaccination are less likely to have complications of influenza when they get infected with influenza. I would say similarly to that with the COVID vaccine, that less complications may arise if an individual is already vaccinated.

Prakash Chandran: Okay. And what if a child has already had or an adolescent has already had COVID-19, does it still make sense for them to get vaccinated, because don't they have antibodies that can protect them?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: You know, this is a good question. I would say that it is still important for individuals to get vaccinated with COVID-19. We do know that COVID-19 has developing variants and thankfully, thus far, the vaccines that we have are protective against these variants. I cannot say the same for individuals who may have immunity from getting it in the community, whether or not they will be protected. So I would still say yes, it is still important for children to get vaccinated, even if they have had the COVID-19 infection already. And I just want to be very clear that children will not be infected with COVID-19 as a result of getting the vaccine itself.

Prakash Chandran: Yes, very clear. And you touched on this already, but I think it's just worth touching on again. Talk to us a little bit about how COVID-19 can affect kids. I know that the cases are smaller, but still, I think it's important to know.

Dr. Luigi Cendana: Absolutely. So the most common signs and symptoms of COVID-19 infection is what would sound like upper respiratory infection. So what does that mean? That means fever, cough, shortness of breath in approximately 73% of the individuals infected, abdominal pain, muscle aches. That's how it is presented. There are severe consequences of COVID-19 as well, such as something called MIS-C, which is a multi inflammatory disease in children as a result of COVID-19. And just to put it in very simple terms, basically the body has an overwhelming response to the disease that it attacks itself and has tremendous amount of inflammation and that can cause issues.

So the other thing that we need to discuss is COVID-19 and sports participation, especially since we have the upcoming school year just around the bend. And it's important to note and to tell your pediatrician that if you had been exposed to COVID-19, to what extent of symptoms you had, because this will affect you the way that you should be reintroduced to sports activity. And we may need to get cardiology clearance for the child in order to participate in sports. So it is also very important that you contact the pediatrician if you have any signs and symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath or palpitations.

Prakash Chandran: So one of the final things that I wanted to ask is, you know, there are going to be parents out there like myself that have children that cannot get vaccinated. They're not of age yet. So is there anything parents can do to keep their kids safe from COVID until they are eligible for vaccination?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: Absolutely. Well, first of all, the first thing that you can do is to make sure that whoever this child is in contact with whether that means in the household, that they themselves be vaccinated, if they are able to. And then the other things that we can do is to continue to practice mask or social distancing when it is appropriate. So that's important to reduce the risk. To continue practicing appropriate respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene as well, it would be also prudent.

So until we have vaccinations available for children ages 5 to 11, which is the next group that will most likely be able to get the vaccination, and then six months to four would be the next. Until that time. Is here, it would be wise to continue to practice those measures by which we know work, whether that be mask-wearing in indoor gatherings where we don't know the status of the individuals that you may be with or you may be countering with, that would be important. And I'm sure the CDC continues to update guidelines into where the CDC can provide you with scenarios where masking and social distancing is more appropriate than perhaps other scenarios.

Prakash Chandran: So Dr. Cendana, just as we close here today, is there a central message that you want to leave parents with around getting the COVID-19 vaccine for their children?

Dr. Luigi Cendana: Absolutely. I want to let parents know that in pediatrics, the most important thing that we focus on is preventative medicine and vaccines is one of the cornerstones in our practice to ensure safety and well-being for children. And so if your child is able to get the COVID-19 vaccine, please do so. It is safe and effective. It can be given concurrently with other vaccines that we currently give children. And if you have any concerns, your pediatrician or your family medicine physician should be able to address your concerns so that you may feel comfortable in providing your child with the vaccine.

Prakash Chandran: Well, Dr. Cendana, I think that's a great place to end. Thank you so much for your time today. I truly appreciate it. That's Dr. Luigi Cendana, a pediatrician at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital's Rural Health Pediatrics Clinic. Thanks for checking out this episode of the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital podcast. To learn more, please visit rrh.org/covid-19-vaccine.

If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks so much for listening and we'll talk next time.