Apprehensive or uncertain whether you’d like to vaccinate your child under 5 against COVID-19 this Fall?

You’re probably very familiar with the idea of weighing risks. vs. benefits. But when it comes to vaccination, the list of benefits is relatively short and not assured [ “we might not get COVID” ] and the list of risks is filled with scary but unlikely worst-case-scenarios [ from “we’ll probably get sick anyway” to “my baby could develop a long-term side-effect.” ]

It can be far more enlightening to evaluate a list of risks vs. risks: in this case, the risks of vaccinating your child vs. the risks presented by natural infection. As part of this exercise, defining your child’s baseline risk for “catching COVID” this Fall/Winter can help you understand what level of precautions could be warranted to protect them from serious illness.

Perfom this risk calculation separately for each unvaccinated child in your home; depending on their age, activity level, and previous COVID-19 exposure, their score may differ significantly from a sibling’s score.

*Underlying risk conditions may include: pregnant, Down Syndrome, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver disease, lung disease, stroke, obesity, cancer, organ or tissue transplant, immunosuppressed

ADD points for each of these risk factors:

• +3 Your child is immunocompromised/underlying risk condition*

• +2 for each You/an adult in your household is immunocompromised/underlying risk condition*

• +1 for each Someone in your child’s important + regular contacts [ eg: grandma who visits weekly ] is immunocompromised/underlying risk condition*

• +2 Your child will attend multi-family childcare of fewer than 5 families [ eg: dayhome ]

• +3 Your child will attend multi-family childcare of more than 5 families [ eg: large daycare, preschool ]

• +1 for each activity group Your child will regularly participate in multi-family indoor activities [ eg: swim class, gynmastics, church etc. ]

• +1 for each A parent/household member works outside the home

• +2 for each A parent/household member works outside the home in a high-contact/high-risk environment

• +2 each trip Your child will board an airplane in Fall/Winter 2022/23

• +1 Your child routinely uses public transit/rideshare

SUBTRACT points for each of these risk mitigations:

• - 1 Your child has had a known COVID infection in the last 3 months

• - 1 You were vaccinated during pregnancy with your child

• - 2 You are vaccinated and your child is currently receiving your breastmilk

• - 1 each household member You have received/will receive a COVID-19 booster this Fall

• - 2 Your child [ over 2 years ] can and will wear a mask in indoor multi-family spaces [ eg: preschool, library ]

How did you score? What is your child’s current, unvaccinated risk profile for contracting COVID-19 this Fall/Winter 2022/23?

21+ High occurrence of risk factors

11 to 20 Increased occurrence of risk factors

1 to 10 Typical risk factors present

(-8) to 0 Low occurrence of risk factors

Now that you know your child’s risk profile for contracting COVID-19, you can consider risk mitigation activities that make sense for your personal exposure and comfort level. These may include a mix of strategies such as a COVID-19 booster for yourself, vaccination for your child, continued masking in public, adjustments to activity groups or childcare arrangements, or flexibility of travel plans. Be sure to consult your doctor, pharmacist, mental health practitioner, and any specialists involved in your child’s care to discuss and evidence-based plan for reducing your child’s risk of serious or lasting illness due to COVID-19.