Physician Parents Step Up to Vaccinate Their Children Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 12 November 2021 06:02 AM America/Los_Angeles Physician Parents Step Up to Vaccinate Their Children Joi, Langston and Miles Little wait for their turn at the vaccine clinic. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Miles, Joi and Langston Little, covid-19 vaccine masked Liana Elbaz gets her first COVID-19 shot from Celina Ortiz, RN. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Patient Liana Elbaz receives her first dose of her covid vaccine-19 from Cedars-Sinai nurse Celina Ortiz RN masked Joi Little receiving her COVID-19 shot. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Patient Joi Little receiving COVID-19 vaccination holding hands masked Hannah Roth hugs her son, Lorenzo Roth-Early, after he received his COVID-19 vaccination. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Hannah Roth hugs son patient Lorenzo Roth-Early after he received his COVID-19 vaccination. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Mom Ali Karp-Ziring and daughter Lila give the thumbs-up sign after Lila got her first COVID-19 shot. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Patient Ali Karp-Ziring covid vaccine-19 masked With Pfizer s COVID-19 Vaccine FDA-Approved for Those 5 and Older Cedars-Sinai Physicians Eagerly Bring Their Own Children to Get Their Shots Cedars-Sinai physicians who have been on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19 in the community are also doing their part at home by getting their children vaccinated against the virus. Cedars-Sinai's COVID-19 vaccine drive-thru opened to children 5 and older on Nov. 4, following Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clearance of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for that age group. Among those receiving their first dose that day was Lila Karp-Ziring, age 9. "We've been waiting ever since the vaccine came out to get her protected," said her father, David Ziring, MD, associate director of the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program and associate professor of Pediatrics at Cedars-Sinai. "It was so easy, and I feel so much better having her vaccinated." Protecting Children Jonathan Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai, scheduled vaccination appointments for his 9-year-old son, Keoni, and 6-year-old daughter, Kairi, as soon as that was an option. "It's just a matter of time before my children are exposed to someone with COVID-19," he said, "and when that happens, I want to know I did everything I could to protect them." Physician parents voiced their concerns about protecting their children from severe disease, complications, and potential long-term effects. "We are seeing more and more data that shows that complications are much lower for children who have been vaccinated compared to those who contract the virus," said Sam Torbati, MD, medical director of the Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department at Cedars-Sinai and associate professor of Emergency Medicine. His sons, Ashton, 16, Gavin, 14, and Dean, 12, are fully vaccinated. Infectious disease specialist Soniya Gandhi, MD, vice president of Medical Affairs and associate chief medical officer at Cedars-Sinai, is still awaiting the day her 4-year-old son can receive the vaccine, and she remains conscious of the risk he faces. "When we look back on the six-week period from early July to mid-August, childhood hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased by fivefold because of the delta surge," she said. "This is not a mild cold that we're talking about. There are a lot of potentially serious and damaging consequences." Vaccination Perks The children, meanwhile, focused on some perks of being vaccinated. "It's one step closer to not wearing a mask," said Keoni Grein. "Also, my mom is going to London, and I want to go with her, but I can't go until I'm fully vaccinated." When 9-year-old Alina Danovitch recently received her first dose of the vaccine, it was cause for celebration at her house for several reasons. "When we asked her what she was most excited about after getting her first shot, she said it was the prospect of being able to hug people," said her father, Itai Danovitch, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai. Alina's 15-year-old sister, Maya, and 13-year-old brother, Deivis, are fully vaccinated, so the whole family will be protected when Alina receives her second dose. "For me, being vaccinated took away this feeling of COVID as an imminent threat," said Deivis. "I know that it's still possible to catch a less-severe case, but I found that it made me a lot more comfortable going out in the world." Deivis and Maya are looking forward to the return of social interaction as well. "Being able to connect more with friends and family, grandparents and other elders around us, and getting back to experiences like going to the movies, are things I've looked forward to," Maya said. Danovitch pointed out that most kids are well-prepared for their COVID-19 shots because of the many other vaccines they receive. "We're lucky that many serious illnesses, such as polio, tetanus, measles and mumps, have become rare because of vaccines," he said. "COVID-19 is very much here, and the benefits of vaccination could not be more palpable." His children didn't experience many side effects. Maya had a slight fever the next day but was well enough to play in a basketball game the day after. Deivis said he just felt a little tired the day after his shots. Other than a sore arm, Lila Karp-Ziring hasn't had other side effects and was well enough for a full day of virtual school the next day. "If you're worried about rare vaccine side effects, then choosing to not vaccinate your children feels safe, but in reality, it's not," said Grein. "Choosing not to vaccinate is choosing to risk your child's health." Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: COVID-19 Vaccine Update for Patients Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories Daya s Mystery What Was Causing a Young Girl s Internal Bleeding Experts From Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children s Search for Answer and a Cure September 02, 2022 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles The Dhillon family seemed to be living the California dream, enjoying the waterway just steps from their home on Naples Island. 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Their hypothesis, published in Frontiers in Immunology, could explain why some people still have symptoms long after the … Read more Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Contact Melissa Vizcarra Melissa.Vizcarra@cshs.org Share this release Physician Parents Step Up to Vaccinate Their Children Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay: Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW: Want New Omicron Booster? 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