Cleveland — Since the federal agency has finally authorized Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 this week, this is a great opportunity for us to convene a panel of experts to answer your questions.

On Thursday, 3News brought together medical experts from the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital Rainbow Infants and Children’s Hospital, and Akron Children’s Hospital to participate in a multi-platform city hall called "The Facts Are Not Fearful: Your Children and COVID". One hour. 

The following medical professionals have served in our team:

We try to answer as many questions about your child's vaccination as possible within an hour. The following is a list of frequently asked questions we received, as well as answers directly from experts:

Why is the COVID-19 vaccine determined by age rather than weight? You can get the complete answer from Dr. Edwards below: 

My child will soon turn 12 years old. Should I give her a pediatric dose now or wait until she is 12 years old before giving her an adult dose?  

"I suggest you get the vaccine as soon as possible," said Dr. Giuliano. "The longer we are unprotected, the greater our chance of infection. We are assured that low doses are very effective for 11-year-old children. Taking a low dose today may provide as much immunity as a higher dose will be ."

What are the side effects of child vaccination?

“When children experience the side effects of the Covid vaccine, it usually means that their body is eliminating the immune response. This is what we want the vaccine to do,” explains Dr. Bigham. "We saw arm pain, and many vaccines would happen to it, and it lasted a short time. We saw some people with headaches, fever, and sometimes muscle aches. What we know is that when they did this study , They have been reducing "the dose provided to these young children." They want to achieve the dose we want with a strong immune response and minimal side effects. This is how they provide this dose to children between 5 and 11 years old. "

Without long-term data, how can we say that vaccines are safe?

"It turns out that the vaccine has worked," said Dr. Forbes. "No matter what effect the vaccine produces, it will happen very quickly in the first few weeks to months. After that, it disappears. If you notice, we are all getting boosters these days because the effect of the vaccine is It weakened after a period of time. About six to nine months."

Do children's COVID-19 vaccines have long-term side effects that we need to worry about? Dr. Edwards gave the answer in the video below.

When can children under 5 be vaccinated? 

Dr. Edwards said: "Fingers crossed, we hope that the end of winter, that is, sometime in February or March 2022," he added that this vaccine will be suitable for children 6 months to 5 years old.

You can watch our complete City Hall "Facts Not Fear: Your Children and COVID" in the player below: 

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