The Most Common Side Effects Of The COVID Vaccine In Kids Under 5 (And How To Alleviate Them)

COVID vaccines for kids under 5 are finally looking like a reality, after the FDA met this week and recommended authorizing the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccinations for COVID for kids age 6 months to 5 years.

Irritability And Drowsiness

For 6-to-23-month-year olds, irritability and drowsiness were most common, according to Patricia DeLaMora, a pediatric infectious disease specialist for Boston Children’s Health Physicians.

Side effects like irritability and drowsiness are common following most vaccines, though, said Jaime Friedman , a pediatrician at Children’s Primary Care Medical Group.

“Parents may notice their child wanting to sleep more, acting more cranky and clingy, or eating less,” she told HuffPost. “These symptoms will most likely only last a day.”

Pain At Injection Site

But the pain is generally mild and children often don’t complain about it unless asked, according to Janet Englund, a professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Washington who was involved in the Pfizer clinical studies in young children this past year.

“For reaction site pain or swelling, it’s often best to cover it with a long-sleeve shirt so they don’t have to see it,” she said. “Give Tylenol if pain is interfering with daily activities but in general, distraction alone works well.”

Fever

Most fevers occurred within two days of vaccination and resolved within a day or two, Playforth said.

“Both fever and local reactions were more common for Moderna than for Pfizer, but these also resolved quickly,” she said. “One child in the Moderna trial had a febrile seizure  a convulsion in a child that’s caused by a fever  after the first dose, but received a second dose without any incident.”

Again, many of the side effects that children may experience after COVID vaccines (such as fever and pain at the injection site) can be managed with ibuprofen (Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol), which can reduce pain and fever,

Fatigue

“Nearly all cases it lasted less than 24 hours,” the doctor said. “These side effects are similar or even less than those seen with other childhood vaccines. In children, having fatigue means they may take a longer nap or go to bed earlier.”

Parents may want to plan accordingly when getting their kids vaccinated by making sure they have free time to rest on the day of and the day following their vaccine, Friedman said.

“The big picture here is that even if there are local or systemic side effects, they are largely self-limited and resolve within a few days,” Playforth said. “In terms of helping your child through them, focus on comfort and hydration, as with all illnesses.”