Doc’s advice: Don’t threaten unruly kids with ‘injections’

YOU CAN TAKE IT A child has to be calmed down and held in place as he receives his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan City on Monday, the start of the inoculation drive for kids aged 5 to 11. (Photo by NIñO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Parents should not make doctors and injections a bogey to frighten or threaten children who are misbehaving, an expert in pediatric infectious diseases said on Tuesday.

According to Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, chief of the University of the Philippines Pediatrics Department’s Infectious and Tropical Diseases section and also a member of the Department of Health-Technical Advisory Group, parents play an important role in educating their children on the importance of vaccines.

But “parents usually threaten their kids with injections or that they will take them to the doctor whenever they get naughty or misbehave,” Ong-Lim said in an online media briefing. “We really don’t want to do that.”

She conceded that going to a doctor to get injected was unavoidable “when we get into an accident or when we get bitten by an animal,” and that fear of needles was “something that must be acknowledged” even among adults.

Still, parents should not threaten their kids with the prospect if they want to reinforce positive “health-seeking behavior,” she said.

Loot bags, etc.

Many kids who got jabbed on Monday, the first day of the pediatric vaccination of minors age 5-11, received loot bags and other treats in party-themed centers.

At the Manila Zoo, hundreds of children and their parents or guardians explored the newly renovated facility after getting their jabs. They were given ice cream, bags of candy, and paracetamol and Vitamin C.

At the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan City, magicians, clowns and cosplayers were on hand to entertain the kids.

But Ong-Lim said it was hard to say if one’s fear of needles or injection could be eased with treats or creatively decorated vaccination sites.

She urged parents and guardians to “prepare the kids so that when they arrive at the vaccination center, their fear becomes more manageable.”

She also said the reason for the jab should be “well explained.”

Ong-Lim said children’s fear of injection “stays with them until they grow up as adults” and “actually impacts a person’s health-seeking behavior.”

“We see a lot of [adults] who avoid getting shots. They say they don’t want to get vaccinated because they’re scared. Imagine, they have had that kind of fear since they were kids,” she said.

Good turnout

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 9,784 kids age 5-11 were vaccinated in 32 sites on the first day of the rollout.

At present, there are 43 sites for pediatric vaccination.

“The turnout was good. The vaccination sites, officials, local governments, the private sector really prepared well. All the gimmicks, including the party-themed vaccination sites, balloons… These were all done to make the children feel comfortable, for them not to feel scared, and it worked well,” Vergeire said.

She said “one measure of success” was the parents’ trust: “Many of them were saying that they trust the vaccines and that they’re happy their children were already among those who got vaccinated and protected against COVID-19.”

Vergeire said challenges were expected with the expansion of the pediatric vaccination, one being how to replicate the setup in pilot areas in other places with limited resources.

“We will try our best,” she said.

Of those inoculated on Monday, one experienced a minor adverse effect. “An 11-year-old kid had rashes on his extremities after receiving the vaccine. He was given anti-allergy medication. He was managed on-site, and when the allergy subsided, he was sent home,” Vergeire said.

She said the government was seeking to vaccinate 15.5 million kids, and that 500,000 had so far registered in four regions.

MIS-C

At a virtual press conference on Tuesday, pediatric groups and doctors backed the rollout of pediatric immunization.

Dr. Mary Ann Bunyi, the president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines, warned that kids in close contact with a COVID-positive person could put them at risk of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

The syndrome, briefly called MIS-C, is the inflammation of the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs, and is most common in the 5-11 age group.

Bunyi said the best way to protect kids from MIS-C, apart from other serious consequences of COVID-19, was vaccination.

She said children across all age groups could become seriously ill from the virus. “Aside from MIS-C, the spread of COVID-19 also [impacts] the kids’ mental health and hinders the resumption of face-to-face classes because we want to ensure their safety [in schools],” she said.

Many parents are hesitant to get their children vaccinated, fearing serious complications and side effects.

But Dr. Joselyn Eusebio, president of the Philippine Pediatric Society, said: “The vaccines are shields, not enemies.”

“Like many regulatory agencies around the world, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine for use in this age group,” she said, adding that the product went through a rigorous and independent review process.

The Philippine Medical Association also backed the vaccination of the 5-11 age group and urged parents to discuss their concerns with health-care providers and medical professionals.

READ: Nearly 10,000 minors aged 5 to 11 jabbed on 1st day of vax drive