@February Covid and general kid sickness

[gretchenindisguise]

A post for this month.

[chickadee77]

Trying to get my 4yo her bivalent, but no one here has it. Moderna does have one, right? Or did I imagine that? God, I'm tired of staying on top of this.

ETA She got the Moderna primary, so, yeah.

[Susie]

Feb 1, 2023 11:56:09 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

Trying to get my 4yo her bivalent, but no one here has it. Moderna does have one, right? Or did I imagine that? God, I'm tired of staying on top of this.

Yes, I'm dealing with this too.  Both the getting a <5 booster and the tired of staying so aggressively on top of it.  

My 3yo got a Moderna primary series, completed in August, so he needs to get a Moderna booster.  It is approved for 2+ months after completion of Moderna primary series.  The Pfizer bivalent is only available to be given as part of their 3-dose primary series.  Mix and match isn't approved, so it has to be Moderna for us.  Unfortunately, Moderna is even harder to find now, at least for me, than it was 6 months ago.  We're going to have to go to a random Walgreens about an hour away.

I was reading an article yesterday that cited a stat of only 50% of <5's being vaccinated for covid, and only 10% being boosted.  The % on primary series sucks, but re: boosters, of course it's low.  Only kids with Moderna primary series (which is a minority) are eligible for a booster, and it sure af is difficult to accomplish.  

[beerlover]

I haven't gotten my 6 year old his bivalent, because I'm tired of getting him shots TBH. He cries and makes a huge deal of it and I need H there with me for moral support (and/or to hold him down if need be), and we have very few options in our town, and his pediatrician doesn't give it. So that means taking him to a grocery store with limited appts where IDK if the person giving the shot is trained in working with kids or not. It's all annoying. He did have a booster in August before school but that's before they came out with the bivalent one. I will do it eventually, I swear...

[waverly]

We had Covid in September, so the bivalent was delayed. We ended up getting it over winter break just in case it made the kids sick. They are in the 5-11 year old range, well DS is 12 now actually, and they had gotten Pfizer, so I think that made it easier overall.

[Poppy]

Feb 1, 2023 11:56:09 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

Trying to get my 4yo her bivalent, but no one here has it. Moderna does have one, right? Or did I imagine that? God, I'm tired of staying on top of this.

ETA She got the Moderna primary, so, yeah.

Yes, that is what DD (just turned 5) got. Moderna primary and Moderna bivalent booster. We were lucky that the booster was easy to get at the county health department. Hope you don't have too much trouble finding it!

[mpm]

www.romper.com/parenting/where-to-find-covid-vaccines-for-kids-under-5

Parents who want vaccines are set up to fail thanks to vaccine deserts.

[lo]

My twins had Pfizer so they can’t get the bivalent booster. Can they get a regular booster? I think it’s been 6 months. My older two got the booster at some point, I know that.

[mpm]

Feb 1, 2023 20:14:25 GMT -5 lo said:

My twins had Pfizer so they can’t get the bivalent booster. Can they get a regular booster? I think it’s been 6 months. My older two got the booster at some point, I know that.

No 4th dose is approved at all for kids under 5. No matter how long it’s been since their last dose. It’s asinine.

There are kids in the damn Pfizer trial who still can’t even get a booster a year past their third dose.

[seeyalater52]

Feb 1, 2023 20:14:25 GMT -5 lo said:

My twins had Pfizer so they can’t get the bivalent booster. Can they get a regular booster? I think it’s been 6 months. My older two got the booster at some point, I know that.

With Pfizer as the primary series they are not currently eligible for any booster unless they’re over age 5.

If they’re over 5 they can have a bivalent Pfizer booster, if they’re over 6 they can choose bivalent Pfizer booster or a bivalent Moderna booster. Regular boosters are no longer approved for any age group at this point I think.

[seeyalater52]

Feb 1, 2023 20:28:23 GMT -5 mpm said:

Feb 1, 2023 20:14:25 GMT -5 lo said:

My twins had Pfizer so they can’t get the bivalent booster. Can they get a regular booster? I think it’s been 6 months. My older two got the booster at some point, I know that.

No 4th dose is approved at all for kids under 5. No matter how long it’s been since their last dose. It’s asinine.

There are kids in the damn Pfizer trial who still can’t even get a booster a year past their third dose.

I’m SO mad about the Pfizer <5 trial kids. It is criminal. I’m pissed enough that my Moderna trial kid who got a BA booster I’m the trial has no plan to be able to get an updated booster before whenever they authorize an additional booster for this age group (maybe next fall?) because the approval language for the Moderna booster in this age group doesn’t account for kids who were vaccinated prior to the EUA timelines.

[mpm]

Feb 1, 2023 20:32:59 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

Feb 1, 2023 20:28:23 GMT -5 mpm said:

No 4th dose is approved at all for kids under 5. No matter how long it’s been since their last dose. It’s asinine.

There are kids in the damn Pfizer trial who still can’t even get a booster a year past their third dose.

I’m SO mad about the Pfizer <5 trial kids. It is criminal. I’m pissed enough that my Moderna trial kid who got a BA booster I’m the trial has no plan to be able to get an updated booster before whenever they authorize an additional booster for this age group (maybe next fall?) because the approval language for the Moderna booster in this age group doesn’t account for kids who were vaccinated prior to the EUA timelines.

And that they mentioned during the VRBPAC meeting that they don’t have enough data yet from Pfizer made my blood boil. Parents of trial kids have been begging and pleading to get into the booster arm for months!

[seeyalater52]

Feb 1, 2023 20:41:35 GMT -5 mpm said:

Feb 1, 2023 20:32:59 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

I’m SO mad about the Pfizer <5 trial kids. It is criminal. I’m pissed enough that my Moderna trial kid who got a BA booster I’m the trial has no plan to be able to get an updated booster before whenever they authorize an additional booster for this age group (maybe next fall?) because the approval language for the Moderna booster in this age group doesn’t account for kids who were vaccinated prior to the EUA timelines.

And that they mentioned during the VRBPAC meeting that they don’t have enough data yet from Pfizer made my blood boil. Parents of trial kids have been begging and pleading to get into the booster arm for months!

Yup, same. The entire meeting they didn’t mention trial kids once, either, even when they were showing the “timeline for vaccination” for gen pop kids through Pfizer and Moderna primary series. And basically saying they have plenty of time to decide next steps bc they all just got vaccinated. Yeah, no. At least let the people who participated in the trials and were early adopters have a shot at protecting their kids instead of lamenting how low vaccination rates are for this age group.

[VillainV]

My husband is just getting over COVID, that he presumably caught at school (he’s an elementary school teacher). Over the last week, teachers and students have been dropping like flies from flu and COVID. I think he said he has 7 students out sick right now. Fortunately C and I did get it this time (at least not yet, and H is on like day 9). But it’s getting bad here y’all.

[dcrunnergirl52]

seeyalater52 and other vax expert: DS3 turned 5 on 1/31 (so earlier this week). He had the <5 pediatric shots (Moderna, both doses) back in June/July 2022. He hasn't received the booster yet.

Should I get him the >5 bivalent booster? Or, the regular >5 covid shot (2 dose)? I'm thinking the >5 booster. He had his well check today, and DH asked but then couldn't remember exactly what the doctor told him. He thinks it was to do the >5 booster.

[picksthemusic]

Finally got the kids boosted with the bivalent a week or so ago. They had gotten the monovalent in June of last year so it was time. We still as a family haven't turned any tests positive, but they did both get the flu over winter break (DS at Thanksgiving, DD before Christmas), so... not sure why, but we're glad we haven't had it yet.

We're going to Disney in May, so trying to stay healthy for that!

[seeyalater52]

Feb 2, 2023 10:42:04 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

seeyalater52 and other vax expert: DS3 turned 5 on 1/31 (so earlier this week). He had the <5 pediatric shots (Moderna, both doses) back in June/July 2022. He hasn't received the booster yet.

Should I get him the >5 bivalent booster? Or, the regular >5 covid shot (2 dose)? I'm thinking the >5 booster. He had his well check today, and DH asked but then couldn't remember exactly what the doctor told him. He thinks it was to do the >5 booster.

He won’t be eligible for another 2 shot primary series if he already received it, regardless of the fact that he’s “aged up” into another age bracket. If I’m recalling correctly with that age and primary series he should be eligible for either a Pfizer OR a Moderna bivalent booster. Moderna looks to have slightly more durability but they’re essentially equivalent options so personally I’d get what you can find.

[frlcb]

My 14 year old came home Thursday from school and was not feeling well, definitely like a bad cold. We gave him a test, positive immediately. Friday he was feeling better, yesterday he was back to normal - and tested negative. I don't even get it. He is still isolating and we will test him again today, and his school already knows and he is out until Wednesday, but we assume he was sick before Thursday but didn't feel sick. It is his second time getting it, and he has had all the boosters. Weird.

[ssmjlm]

The stomach bug is going through here and my kid was sick Friday night into Sat am. She's been fine since Saturday at 2:30, when she was last sick, but it's hitting all the grades.

I forgot how NOT FUN the stomach bug was.

[osulori]

Such a weird weekend. Friday Kid #1 came home from school with a sore throat and headache. Covid swab was negative, ibuprofen cleared up both the headache and sore throat but then he was up around 12:30 with a fever. Husband woke me up around 2:30 to tell me (#1 had gotten up when he got home from work), I took his temp and it was 103.5 (!). Gave him some ibuprofen again and got him comfy on the couch watching Bluey. He fell asleep and felt better when he woke up, temp stayed gone after meds wore off and he's felt great since but agreed skipping soccer Saturday was the right call. Ran a 5k with me yesterday and hasn't missed a beat. So off to school he went!

Kid #2 was fine until about 10am yesterday then started telling my parents she was tired (she was there while #1 and I ran the 5k). Not much appetite, was telling me her tummy and ears hurt. Took an okayish nap, eventually had a giant poop which was celebrated since she's been constipated. Tummy hurt after dinner but then was fine, slept great and hit the ground running today so she's at the sitter's.

So weird.

[Susie]

My 2nd grader is home with the slowest play stomach bug I've seen in a while.  She hasn't eaten a full meal since maybe last Wed?  The diarrhea started Friday, and we're on day 4 now.  She hasn't puked though, and the diarrhea is relatively infrequent, such that I'm not super worried about dehydration.  Maybe 2 times/day on average.  

Her teacher said there's a stomach bug going around her class, so I'm guessing this is just her presentation of it.  We're all ready for it to to clear out.

[Pilsy]

We've somehow not done the bivalent booster for our girls yet. They're both afraid of needles, and I thought I would lose my mind the last time I took them, which must have been for flu shots. I'm really dreading doing that again.

I need to work up the courage/motivation/whatever to get this done. We are finally taking a real vacation in April, so if nothing else does it, that will be my incentive.

[lo]

The stomach bug has hit our house twice since Christmas. First time was violent vomiting for all, this time is nausea and diarrhea. Kids over it and went back to school today, but I was called for a suspected case of pink eye in one. And then they sent her twin home at the same time for no reason (my dad thankfully was able to pick them up.). Sooooo funnnnn

[bookqueen15]

We've been dealing with the stomach bug too since mid last week. It hit all of us unfortunately but all seem to be past it now. It was awful though.

[beerlover]

Speaking of stomach bugs, I posted this in randoms but is it possible to get another stomach bug two weeks after you already had one?! Are some bugs just weird and incredibly slow moving? Did I not clean my house enough and he got reinfected somehow?

My son threw up the night of the 22nd so I had to keep him home from school that Monday the 23rd. He then had (TMI) diarrhea all week, which was awesome (basically it was just once a day, but he just wasn't right for awhile). Finally got over that, was fine all the last week, normal digestion and eating, and then back to diarrhea yesterday and he threw up before bed last night. Did he really catch something else that soon? He's never sick this frequently so this seems over the top.

[brooklyn]

My nine year old just tested positive tonight after two days of a 103 fever, I’m so tired of all this 😫

[abs]

I know there has been a lot of speculation and anecdotes about how we think the Covid rapid tests aren't as accurate anymore but has there been any concrete news confirming or denying this?

I am just curious. DD woke up on Saturday January 28th with a fever. It lasted for like 8 hours--just like the first time she had Covid. She basically had every symptom of Covid but rapid test showed negative. We went to Urgent Care and she tested negative for flu, strep, and Covid (PCR) there. The next day she lost her sense of taste and smell so we did another Covid test. Still negative. By Monday she was feeling better but just exhausted and started coughing. Kept her home just in case. Did another Covid test on Tuesday morning. Still negative. Sent her to school. It kicked her butt but she made it. By Wednesday I decided it must have been just a cold because those exist, too. On Saturday I find out a good friend of hers was out all week with Covid. So clearly she was exposed and I really think she had Covid as well but she could never turn a test. DH and I never got sick though so who knows. This is a confusing stage.

[prettyinpearls]

Feb 6, 2023 13:56:29 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Speaking of stomach bugs, I posted this in randoms but is it possible to get another stomach bug two weeks after you already had one?! Are some bugs just weird and incredibly slow moving? Did I not clean my house enough and he got reinfected somehow?

My son threw up the night of the 22nd so I had to keep him home from school that Monday the 23rd. He then had (TMI) diarrhea all week, which was awesome (basically it was just once a day, but he just wasn't right for awhile). Finally got over that, was fine all the last week, normal digestion and eating, and then back to diarrhea yesterday and he threw up before bed last night. Did he really catch something else that soon? He's never sick this frequently so this seems over the top.

From what I've read, you have a pretty high immunity to whatever strain of the virus that caused the initial sickness for 3-6 months. Unless it's another strain your DS picked up, odds are it's just a super slow moving bug. Most people are better in 1-3 days, but symptoms can linger for up to 14 days. 

We had the stomach bug ravage our house last week and my youngest (3) had on and off symptoms forever it seemed like. My oldest was sick for 24 hours and had lingering stomach pains for 2-3 more days (nothing that affected his day-to-day) and my middle had a bad stomachache and low fever for 8 hours and was totally fine. So strange how it affects people differently. 

You might want to consider a Covid test, just to be safe.  After the stomach bug struck daycare for 2 weeks, kids started testing positive for Covid, with GI issues as a symptom. 

[waverly]

abs, When we had Covid all 4 of us had it. DS turned a test right away Tuesday. I had symptoms Thursday, and didn't turn the test positive until Sunday, DH tested positive on Monday. And, DD has cold/ Covid symptoms and never turned a test positive. I tested her every day for a week, and then gave up. I kept sending her to school because she wasn't positive, and I didn't hear that anyone else got it, but I did feel bad because I feel like she probably had it but I couldn't prove that she had it. So I guess her viral load was low and not super contagious, but I don't know that for sure.

[loira]

We can't catch a break either. DD has been sick to various degrees for the last 2.5 weeks and I've been dealing with some minor version of whatever she has (not COVID). Seems to be some weird hybrid of a bad cold, cough and gastro issues and it's never ending. Or maybe it's more than one virus and she picks up something new every time she gets better enough to be sent back to school. Last year she was hardly sick at all, but of course kids were masked in school and there were a lot more restrictions.