Reports show mild COVID vaccine side effects in children 5 to 11 years old

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The Center for Disease Control says more than 1 million children younger than 12 nationwide have gotten their first dose of the COVID vaccine.

Gov. Jared Polis said last week that at least 5% of Colorado's kids, five to 11 years old, got their first doses. Pfizer data released by the United States Food and Drug Administration shows what participants between the ages of 5 and 11 felt following their first and second doses. 

So far, results have been reportedly mild.

Dr. Sara Saporta-Keating, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Children's Hospital Colorado Springs, says the most reported side effects among kids in this age group are headaches and fatigue.

"And fever, while it was reported in some children, it certainly was not among the highest," says Dr. Saporta-Keating.

The FDA says, after the first Pfizer dose:

• 2.5% reported having fever
• 33.6% reported fatigue
• 22.4% reported having headache
• 4.6% reported having chills
• 2.2% reported vomiting
• 5.9% reported diarrhea
• 9.1% reported muscle pain
• 3.3% reported joint pain

"It seems the side effects were reported as strongly as they were in adults, which is, I think, the good news for parents - to be able to be reassured that their kids may not have as strong of a reaction," Dr. Saporta-Keating said.

She says she hopes that parents will aid in stopping the spread of COVID-19, adding, that she and those she knows in the medical community are eager to vaccinate their kids.

"The vaccine is very efficacious from keeping people from getting very sick from COVID," Dr. Saporta-Keating said. "From a community perspective, keeping kids from potentially spreading the virus is also very important. The more people we have vaccinated, the more likely we are to stop community transmission.”