AAP Releases Its Own Evidence-Based Immunization Schedule

COVID-19 Vaccine information:

Piedmont Pediatrics is following the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance for the updated 2025-2026 COVID-19 Moderna (JN.1 lineage) vaccine, recommending it for:

• All children ages 6-23 months,

  unless they have a known allergy to the vaccine

• All children and adolescents 2-18 years at higher risk of severe disease
• All children who are not in high risk groups but whose guardians

  wish to have them vaccinated

Piedmont Pediatrics follows AAP guidance in recommending the COVID-19 vaccine because COVID-19 continues to be a cause of hospitalization and death in the pediatric population.  COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in protecting individuals and populations against serious outcomes associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, including post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

COVID-19 vaccines can be given with other routine childhood immunizations and the influenza vaccine at the same time.  "Today's entire pediatric vaccine schedule exposes children to about 320 antigens - far fewer than the 3,000+ antigens in vaccines from the 1960s.  For perspective, babies encounter thousands of germs daily through normal activities."*

Your child should be immunized with the vaccine that is appropriate for their age.  For example, if a child is 11 years old for their first COVID vaccine, but turns 12 before the second, then they should get the 5-11 year old vaccine for the first dose and the 12+ yo vaccine for the second.  There is no benefit or increased immunity associated with waiting to get a “larger” dose.

When should my child get a COVID-19 vaccine?

*  Those 6 - 23 months of age who have never had a COVID-19 vaccine need:

  - 2 doses of the Moderna vaccine

  - 1 month (4 weeks) between the two doses

  -  (Pfizer vaccines are no longer available for children under 5 years of age)

*  Those 6 - 23 months of age who have had one previous Moderna

  vaccine need:
- one dose of the Moderna vaccine 1 month (4 weeks) after their last dose

*  Those 2  years of age and up (regardless of previous number of vaccines) need
- one dose of the latest (2025-2026) COVID-19 vaccine

   (3+ months after their last dose if they had one )

* Those  6 months of age and up who recently had a COVID-19 infection should

  get the COVID-19 vaccine (whether the first one or a booster) 3+ months

  after their infection

(Please note that there is a different primary schedule for the Pfizer vaccine, but booster doses are interchangeable between the Moderna and Pfizer products.)

Testing:

Remember that the newest COVID variants may not show up on home testing in the first day or two of symptoms. (Our office can test current patients with a PCR test, considered the gold standard, any time COVID-19 is suspected. However, many insurance carriers no longer cover these send-out tests, so a home test might be a better financial choice for many households.) To maximize the chances of an accurate home test, if the first test is negative, repeat in 1-2 days (some of the more recent Omicron subvariants peak in shedding on Day 4 of symptoms.) Any positive test is probably accurate, but a negative test that is done too early might be a false-negative.

Testing is recommended to:

1. Avoid spreading the infection to others

2. Have a clear idea of why you are sick (in case of complications)

3. Get treatment (Paxlovid) if you are in a high risk group (remember that it is not approved for children under 12 years of age)

4. To know when to get your COVID-19 vaccine (typically 3+ months after having the disease)

For more information, please go to HealthyChildren.org

and *Unbiased Science Podcast