LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The COVID-19 vaccine has been called a medical marvel and the answer to seeing a world without the coronavirus.
According to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, more than 2 million vaccine doses have been administered in the Silver State. Children 12 years and older can now receive the Pfizer vaccine, and while many parents are jumping at the chance, some still have reservations about just how safe the vaccine is.
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"We are trying to explain to parents that we hear them, we understand their concerns," said Dr. Kami Larsen, a pediatrics specialist with Nevada Health Centers. "We want to validate the fact that they are concerned. You should be anytime you're giving your child a medication of any kind, whether it's a vaccine or anything else.
"But we really want to stress the fact that the vaccine is safe and effective," she said.
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Nevada Health Centers is the state's largest federally funded health center.
"Our mission is to provide quality health care to those people who wouldn't be able to access it otherwise," Dr. Larsen said.
The center provides primary care, dental services, mental health services and more.
Dr. Larsen says most children are able to tolerate the coronavirus better than adults; that doesn't mean it can't harm them.
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"There have been a good number of kids who get severe reactions to the virus. Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, for example, has affected more than 3,600 kids across the country," Dr. Larsen said.
"Even for children that aren't severely affected by the virus, it's still important to prevent any major illness, and we do that with vaccines."
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Dr. Larsen says the side effects of the vaccine in children are similar to adults. "The most common things we are seeing are body aches, fever, joint and muscle aches, maybe some nausea," said Dr. Larsen, adding that the symptoms are usually mild.
For a list of places that are currently giving vaccination shots for COVID-19 click here.
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