Vaccines/Immunizations

This page lists all of the Vaccine Information Statements for each vaccine. It also has several links to vaccine information sites to learn more about the diseases prevented by vaccines as well as sites that address autism concerns. Read  more.

View All Vaccine Information

Find information about our flu clinics, general flu vaccine information and more.  Read more...

View All Influenza Vaccine

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.

For information on Long COVID:

• Visit our COVID and Long-covid page

What can you do to help get your family protected?

Be an advocate! Call or write to your representatives to let them know you want the choice to have COVID vaccines for your family.

Find your reps: usa.gov/elected-officials

What if you're pregant or breastfeeding?

This is from https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/pregnant-or-breastfeeding.html but may change based on the orange box at the top:

Find information about long COVID

View All COVID Vaccine Information

At Pediatric Partners, an Affiliate of Children's Mercy, our main concern is the health of your child. We strongly believe that immunizations play an important role in maintaining your child’s health from infancy to adulthood. Read more...

View All Vaccine Policy