Here in Utah 77,829 children (1 in 20 in the population) have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and about 8 out of 1,000 kids with COVID-19 have been hospitalized.
Doctors at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital are also seeing young patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C – a severe complication from COVID-19.
MIS-C involves inflammation of at least two organ systems, such as heart, lung, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal systems.
Across the country about 1 in 1,000 kids with COVID-19 have had MIS-C. Utah doctors have seen 74 cases of MIS-C.
Katrina Jensen, RN, a Pediatric Nurse with Intermountain Healthcare, joined us to talk about the advantages of getting kids vaccinated. Those advantages include: they won't need to wear a mask around other vaccinated people, they won't need to quarantine if exposed to someone who has COVID, and they greatly reduce the risk of serious illness and complications related to COVID-19, including MIS-C.
She says almost 30 percent of the Utah population is made up of children less than 18 years old. That's why doctors are encouraging kids ages 12-17 to get vaccinated.
Pfizer is the only brand approved for children ages 12 and up so make sure to check that is the vaccine being given at the location you are going.
Parents can check for appointments on local health department websites – if it says it's a 12+ site, then they're offering the Pfizer vaccine.
Parents can also go to intermountainhealthcare.org to schedule a vaccine appointment or call (877) 777-0566.
Or parents can call their pediatric provider to find out where vaccines for children are being offered.
