Sick visits are a vital component of pediatric care because they allow for the prompt diagnosis and treatment of illnesses that could disrupt a child’s daily activities or pose more serious health risks. These visits ensure that children receive timely attention for symptoms like fever, cough, or rashes, which may indicate underlying infections or conditions requiring medical evaluation. By addressing these concerns quickly, sick visits help reduce the duration and severity of illnesses, enabling children to return to their routines sooner.

Furthermore, sick visits are an opportunity to build trust and communication between families and healthcare providers. Pediatricians not only diagnose and manage the illness but also provide valuable guidance to parents on how to care for their child during recovery. This reassurance is particularly important for first-time parents or caregivers dealing with recurring symptoms. The availability of sick visits reinforces a comprehensive approach to pediatric healthcare, ensuring children’s immediate and long-term needs are met.

COVID-19 vaccines are being monitored for safety with the most comprehensive and intense safety monitoring program in U.S. history. CDC monitors the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines after the vaccines are authorized or approved for use, including the risk of myocarditis in children ages 5 through 11 years.

- Your child may get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, including flu vaccine, at the same time.

- Serious health events after COVID-19 vaccination are rare.

- Cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the outer lining of the heart) have been reported after Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination of children ages 1217 years. These reactions are rare; in one study, the risk of myocarditis after the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech in the week following vaccination was around 54 cases per million doses administered to males ages 1217 years.

- In general, adolescents ages 12 through 17 years have a higher risk for myocarditis than children ages 5 through 11 years. During clinical trials, no cases of myocarditis occurred in children ages 5 through 11 years who received the COVID-19 vaccine.

- A severe allergic reaction, like anaphylaxis, may happen after any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines, but this is rare.

- Your child cannot get COVID-19 from any COVID-19 vaccine, including the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Learn more about how mRNA vaccines, like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, work.

- There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause fertility problems.