Soon after receiving the go-ahead from federal and state regulators, Mount Sinai moved quickly last week to begin offering vaccines to children age 5 to 11.
This was a moment that parents—including many in the Mount Sinai community—had been waiting for, a step toward ending the pandemic and moving back toward a more normal life. Vaccines for children age 12 to 15 were authorized in May. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first authorized COVID-19 vaccines for adults in December 2020.
Lower dose Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines were offered at special pods at The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and Mount Sinai South Nassau used its popular Vaxmobile to deliver shots to children in the neighboring communities.
“COVID-19 has significantly affected our children in so many ways—even those who have not been sick have endured effects on their emotional and mental health, decreased physical activity, the loss of in-person learning and, for some, the loss of parents or other caregivers,” says Vicki R. LoPachin, MD, MBA, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Mount Sinai Health System. “But the data show this vaccine to have very high efficacy at reducing infections and producing strong antibody responses, so we are confident it will be effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in our most vulnerable young ones. We encourage all of you who have children in your families to speak to your child’s health care provider, and schedule vaccination appointments as soon as you can.”
One focus at the outset was offering vaccinations to high-risk and the most vulnerable pediatric patients like Lexi Isler, who was born without a bladder and underwent a series of medical procedures before receiving a kidney transplant from her father, Luther, at Mount Sinai in early 2019.
“This is a great day. Having the vaccine relieves some of the mental stress,” her father said, standing beside his daughter after she received the vaccine. “We always wondered about her compromised immune system, and now we don’t have to worry quite as much with this extra layer of protection.” Lexi said she looks forward to going more places, including those that require vaccination. Immunocompromised people, such as transplant patients or those being treated for some cancers, have a reduced ability to fight infections and are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19.
Mount Sinai is very pleased to now be able to offer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children age 5 to 11, says Lisa M. Satlin, MD, the Herbert H. Lehman Professor of Pediatrics and Chair of the Jack and Lucy Clark Department of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Pediatrician-in-Chief of the Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital.
“Clinical studies in more than 2,000 children in this specific age group showed that the vaccine was extremely effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and generated a robust antibody response,” Dr. Satlin says. “It is critical that all children—and especially those disproportionately affected by COVID-19—be vaccinated to not only protect them from the short and long-term effects of infection, but to eliminate the secondary impact of disease on in-person education and other interactions that are critical to growing children’s mental and physical well-being.”
When the Pediatric Vaccine Pod opened on Thursday, November 4, at The Mount Sinai Hospital, staff from the hospital’s Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department were on hand to support the children arriving for this historic opportunity, and they will continue to staff the pods as long as needed.
While the development of a COVID-19 vaccine for children age 5 to 11 brings great excitement and optimism in the fight against COVID-19, for many children getting an injection can be a scary experience. Child Life Specialists work with children and their caregivers to identify coping strategies to mitigate fears and anxieties related to medical experiences such as vaccines.
Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, the provision of popular items such as an iPad or bubbles to help alternate focus, and comfort positioning where a child is securely held in a caregiver’s lap, are some of the ways the child life specialists work alongside the medical team to enhance the patient experience.
Child life specialists and music therapists helped to create a supportive patient and family centered environment. Music therapists used music as a technique for coping during the injection, and also provided live music throughout the space to set a calming tone.
“This is a great opportunity to translate supportive interventions that have been impactful to our patient and families in our inpatient and outpatient environments into a new area of care,” says Licensed Music Therapist Todd O’Connor.
The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy team makes sure that children leave their visit feeling proud of their accomplishment. The children received a vaccine sticker along with activity books and other fun give-away items that were available for them to use during the vaccine observation period and to take home from their visit.
“We are delighted to partner in this important initiative,” says Child Life Specialist Cheryl Strauss. “We realize that the vaccine is a two-part series, and we aim to help children recognize their strengths and coping abilities for successful return visits.”