A significant step towards the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 has been taken in the past few days. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for this age group on Friday, following an opinion published a few days earlier by a panel of experts. According to the FDA, also for children, the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.
Health Canada is currently reviewing the request for approval submitted by Pfizer-BioNTech. If Canada gets the green light, 63% of Quebec parents plan to have their children in this age group vaccinated, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ).
Vaccination is already part of the routine for children. Normally, we make an appointment, we go and we don’t make a big deal out of it. The context surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine is different, underlines psychologist Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, associate professor at UQAM.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal
Given the social aspects, given that we have been talking about it for a long time, given that they have heard a lot of things, in my opinion it is better to take the time.
Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal
The idea is to answer the children’s questions, but also to equip them so that they are able to go to be vaccinated “by understanding why they do it and by being reassured”, she says.
Chat with family
Pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine, the Dr Olivier Drouin advises discussing vaccination in concrete terms, adapted to the age and temperament of the child. Like all the other vaccines the child has received, the COVID-19 vaccine helps protect yourself, but also protect others. This is a great opportunity, according to the two experts, to develop children’s altruism. “We talk to them about the people around them who are more fragile,” suggests Dr.r Drouin.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY OLIVIER DROUIN
Olivier Drouin, pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine
Parents can also remind their offspring of all the inconveniences associated with contamination with COVID-19. “The idea of having to isolate yourself at home for 10, 14 days, it can speak to children,” said the pediatrician.
Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier suggests that parents announce that children’s vaccination is approaching and simply observe their reaction. In families where vaccination is a given, children will not make much of it, she says. If the child has a closed attitude, or if he argues that some of his friends will not be vaccinated, the psychologist advises first to ask him what he heard and how he feels about it. . Then, the parent can invite him to come and discover with him what is the consensus in the scientific community. Resources for children can be a great basis for discussion, she says.
Listen to the video COVID-19 vaccine explained to children
Visit the Animated Vaccines and Microbes page of the Les Explorateurs website
In the eyes of Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, supporting the autonomy of the child is essential. “When you face a health challenge, both personal and collective, what you want is to make it autonomous,” she says.
Olivier Drouin and Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier are of the same opinion: let us refrain from criticizing families who choose not to have their children vaccinated (this concerns a quarter of parents of children aged 5 to 11 in Quebec, according to the survey by the INSPQ) so as not to affect the relationship between the children. “We can go there with a more positive message by explaining why, in the family, we made this decision”, indicates Dr Olivier Drouin.
Even if the child does not have to consent from a legal point of view, it is also preferable to seek his agreement, even if it means giving him a little more time to inquire, believes Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier.
If done in a very controlling way, it can have long-term effects that we would not have anticipated compared to the medical care that the child may one day need to receive.
Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal
What about the big day?
The fear of needles is not to be neglected. If the child is anxious, the very day of the vaccination, we can establish a game plan with him, advises Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier: where and when we get vaccinated, with whom and with what (doggie for reassurance, toy to distract oneself…). “Now is not the time to feel guilty about pulling out the iPad! “, she says.
So that the child keeps a beautiful memory of this day, we can let him choose the evening meal or even take him to play in the park on his return from the clinic, suggests the psychologist.
Should we prepare it for possible side effects, such as fever, fatigue, local pain? Unless the question is asked, the experts do not see the need for it. “That would risk creating negative expectations,” says Dr.r Drouin. But the next day, we don’t do it on purpose to plan a big day of activities. ”