Irvine Community News and Views

As We Head into the Holidays, We Must Educate the Community on the Importance of COVID-19 Vaccines

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the number of reported COVID-19 cases in children has increased. In fact, the week before Thanksgiving there were at least 141,905 new cases reported in children — which was a full 25 percent of all new COVID-19 cases reported in the United States that week.

Vaccines are our way out of the pandemic. That is a fact based in science! The reason we continue to see an uptick in cases (and new variants) is because too many people are still not vaccinated.

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Children Ages 5-11 Now Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine

As of late October, there have been nearly 6.4 million reported COVID-19 cases among children.

Good news! Parents and pediatricians have been anxiously waiting for federal health officials to give final approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5-11.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced authorized use of the vaccine on October 29th. The FDA’s decision impacts about 28 million children in the United States.

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COVID-19 Resources for Families

Throughout the pandemic, it has been very difficult for parents to separate fact from fiction from opinion.

To help, Orange County pediatricians, UC Irvine, and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) are working together to provide accurate information that parents can trust.

I’m proud to be a member of a working group that has been established within the health care and education community to help families make data-driven decisions for their children.

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We Must Work Together to Keep Our Kids Safe

Here in Orange County, we are in the midst of another severe surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, even though we have access to remarkably safe and effective vaccines.

The COVID-19 pandemic has largely become a pandemic of the unvaccinated — people who are eligible but, so far, refuse to get vaccinated.

These individuals have become vectors of disease for younger children (under 12) who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated.

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The COVID-19 Pandemic Isn’t Over Yet … And Our Children Are Most at Risk

Over the past month, California and Orange County cases of COVID-19 have increased. As the CDC has repeated, this is now a pandemic largely of the unvaccinated.

As long as there are unvaccinated individuals, the highly contagious and highly transmissible Delta variant will continue to spread throughout the community, and new variants will continue to emerge.

In order to stop the spread of this deadly virus once and for all, we must encourage everyone we know to get vaccinated, including children 12 years of age and older.

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Should Your Child Take Swim Lessons Before Being Vaccinated?

Parents have begun asking pediatricians if their children — who are too young to receive the COVID-19 vaccine — can take swim lessons this summer.

The answer is yes, swimming is a great family activity! It’s good exercise and a life-saving skill. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends water safety and swim lessons for all children as a layer of protection against drowning.

While a COVID-19 vaccine for younger children is not yet available, taking extra precautions can help lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure during swim lessons.

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Yes, Children as Young as 12 Should Get a COVID-19 Vaccination

Vaccines are proving to be the way to navigate out of the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why it is important to vaccinate those eligible as quickly as possible. Currently, just under half of the residents in Orange County are fully vaccinated.

The Pfizer vaccine is now available for children 12 years of age and older. The majority of those working in the medical field have already had our children and grandchildren vaccinated. I encourage other parents to do this as well.

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This Pool Season: One More Drowning is One Too Many

It’s that time of the year again — pool season! As temperatures rise, there’s nothing more fun for kids to do than splash away in the nearest pool. However, we must also be aware of the dangers that come with access to swimming pools.

Drowning is the No. 1 cause of death among children ages 1-4 here in Orange County.

Every year, we hear tragic stories about accidental drownings in backyard pools. A 4-sided pool fence would prevent most of these tragedies from occurring.

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A Discriminatory Trend That Has Somehow Become Acceptable Behavior: Ageism

Like many Americans, I’ve witnessed anti-Semitism, racism, and sexism up close.

Today, I’m witnessing another form of discrimination that has, sadly, somehow become acceptable behavior. I am talking about ageism.

Our country no longer seems to appreciate — or even acknowledge — that our parents and our grandparents created most of the civil rights breakthroughs and opportunities we enjoy today.

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We’re Doing Better … But We Aren’t Out of the Woods Yet

The good news is that the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across Orange County has dropped significantly.

However, only 15% of our County’s residents have been fully vaccinated, so we must continue to follow the safety protocols until that number dramatically increases.

The only way out of this global pandemic is through vaccines! We must get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible to save lives and to stop the virus from spreading before more variants are created.

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