Children's Mercy Pediatric Partners Inc

COVID Vaccine Information

COVID Vaccine

Updated 2024-2025 COVID vaccines are available
Pediatric Partners will have vaccine available for infants and young children only. Older children, teens, and adults can be vaccinated at pharmacies and the health department.
The COVID vaccine can safely be given at the same time as other vaccines.
A child should receive the age-appropriate vaccine product and dosage based on their age on the day of vaccination.For children who turn 4 to 5 years of age and are receiving Pfizer mRNA vaccine, if the 10 mcg dose is the second dose, administer 3-8 weeks after the first dose; if it is the third dose, administer at least 8 weeks after the second dose.
“Mix and match” dosing between brands is allowed for children 5 years and older.
For those under 4 years who are completing their primary series, it is preferable to use the same brand. Children uner 4 years who previously completed a primary series with one brand may switch to a different brand when receiving an updated dose.
Who should get vaccines - and when?
Everyone over 6 months of age is recommended to get vaccinated yearly.
If you haven’t had a COVID shot within the last 2 months, you are eligible for updated boosters.
Those who recently had a COVID infection may consider delaying COVID vaccine by 3 months from symptom onset or positive test (if infection was asymptomatic). Studies have shown that increased time between infection and vaccination may result in an improved immune response to vaccination.
The 2024/25 vaccine is based on circulating variants.
What is the cost?
The updated COVID vaccines are covered by most private insurance plans, Medicare, and Medicaid.
COVID vaccines are free for uninsured/underinsured children via the Vaccines for Children program.
Check what may be available at your local health department.

The side effects have been similar to other routine vaccines- sore arm, redness, fatigue, fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and arthralgia. The side effects are temporary and mostly mild or moderate.
Anaphylaxis has been observed following receipt of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines but this has been rare.
Extremely rare cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have been reported – most often in males between 12-39 years of age, but it is important to note that infections with SARS-CoV-2 cause higher rates and severity of myocarditis than the vaccine.
Additional information on common side effects and rare adverse reactions can be found here:
Getting Your COVID-19 Vaccine | CDC
Allergic Reactions after COVID-19 Vaccination | CDC

We will make every attempt to keep this page up to date, but there is a lot of unknown with the future of vaccination recommendations and the situation is very fluid.

Pharmacies are offering COVID vaccines to those over 12 years of age with high risk conditions (see below). Some may be offering COVID vaccines to younger children - check with your pharmacy.

We have started to receive COVID vaccines for children under 12 years of age. We are getting small amounts at a time, so if they are available we can give them, but we will not offer mass vaccination clinics.

The health department is also able to give the COVID19 vaccine. Johnson County KS Health Department information can be found here or you can search for your county's health department.

If you are interested in your 6 month through 11 year old getting vaccinated, call to see if we have the right dose for your child's age and insurance.

Those who are getting VFC vaccines (Medicaid, Native Americans, or uninsured) must meet the requirements as stated per the CDC for risk factors. We believe that private insurance companies are not going to track risk factors. We believe that insurance will cover these vaccines, but may require parents to sign an agreement that they will cover costs if insurance does not cover it because we cannot afford to cover this cost.

What are the FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines for 2025/26?

Moderna for those 6 months and up who have at least 1 high risk health condition*
Pfizer for those 5 years and up with a high risk condition*
Novavax is approved for those 12 years and up with high risk conditions*
No high risk condition is required for those 65 years and up

*High risk conditions include, but are not limited to the following: those most commonly seen in our clinics are in bold:**

obesity (Body Mass Index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for children)
lack of physical exercise
diabetes (both types 1 and 2)
cardiac, lung (including asthma and cystic fibrosis), liver, kidney, hematologic, and neurologic disorders
ADHD
mood disorders, including depression
medical complexity
smoker (current or past is included, but vaping is not specified)

Also, shared decision making is an option:

advice from your healthcare provider (this is the shared decision-making option - yes, we want our patients to have this vaccine, so if your pharmacy asks you, we said to get it!)

There are no FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines for “healthy” infants and teens, despite the known higher risk of children under 2 years of age and the proven safety and efficacy of these vaccines. The AAP and other medical organizations are advocating for continued use of these vaccines to protect all children and adults.

Pregnancy is listed as a high risk condition, yet there is no vaccine currently approved for use during pregancy. The CDC list itself states, “Completion of a 2-dose mRNA COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization for COVID-19, including for critical illness, among infants younger than 6 months of age,” but the FDA has failed to approve a COVID19 vaccine for use during pregnancy, so it is unclear if infants will be able to be protected during pregnancy.

AAP Recommendations

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other professional organizations have released their recommendations that differ from the FDA this year.

The AAP recommends that:

all children 6 months to 2 years of age get vaccinated against COVID-19
all children who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID get vaccinated
all high-risk children and children living with high-risk people should be vaccinated
any child of a parent who desires vaccination should be able to be vaccinated

Will insurance cover COVID-19 vaccines?

Insurers are required to cover vaccines listed in the CDC immunization schedules, including shared clinical decision-making recommendations, which may qualify anyone for COVID vaccination.

This year insurers may consider the recommendations of medical professional groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Medical Association (AMA), and American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) to best protect their insured and to decrease overall hospitalization rates.

Do we recommend vaccination?

Yes, we recommend the vaccine for all who are eligible.

We strongly recommend COVID-19 vaccination annually for all eligible patients and their families to help prevent serious acute and chronic problems that can arise from SARS-CoV2 infections, even in young, healthy people.

Are the vaccines safe?

The side effects have been similar to other routine vaccines- sore arm, redness, fatigue, fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and arthralgia. The side effects are temporary and mostly mild or moderate and much less significant than effects of infections with the virus.
Anaphylaxis has been observed following receipt of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, but this has been rare.
Extremely rare cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have been reported – most often in males between 12-39 years of age, but it is important to note that infections with SARS-CoV-2 cause higher rates and severity of myocarditis than the vaccine.
Additional information on common side effects and rare adverse reactions can be found here:
COVID-19 Vaccine Information Sheet (VIS

For updates:

In addition to our updates, the AAP has a page of COVID-related news that you can check to see if there are any changes. Visit it on https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/1362/COVID-19-pandemic.