Dear Middle School Parents,
As you are likely aware, the FDA has authorized the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in 12-15 year olds. I have heard that many of you have already made appointments and that some of our students will be getting vaccinated as early as tomorrow. The American Academy of Pediatrics has strongly expressed their support for approved Covid-19 vaccines in younger children and adolescents.
Post-Vaccine Symptoms
It is expected that some children aged 12 through 15 years will experience the same minor side effects as older individuals who have received the vaccine. Symptoms which may be vaccine related are chills, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, nausea and fatigue. It is considered normal to experience these side effects for up to two days post-vaccination.
Per the Illinois Department of Public Health, if your child was to experience one or more of the above vaccine related side effects for the first two days after vaccination, your child may come to school if they feel well enough to do so. It is assumed that these symptoms are vaccine related. However, if the symptoms do not improve and persist for more than 2 days (the day of vaccination is day 0), it is presumed that your child may instead have Covid-19 and your child will then be required to test for Covid-19.
Symptoms unlikely to be from Covid-19 vaccination are cough, shortness of breath, runny nose, and loss of taste and smell. If your child was to have any of these symptoms immediately following vaccination, your child must test for Covid-19.
It is not uncommon to have a fever (100.4 F or above) following the vaccination. Anyone who has a fever post-vaccination must be fever-free (without fever-reducing medication) for at least 24 hours prior to returning to school.
Reporting Post-Vaccine Symptoms to Baker
Our Daily Wellness Screening is not designed to capture vaccine-specific details. Therefore, if your child is experiencing a vaccine-related symptom (chills, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, nausea and/or fatigue) and will be attending school, you will need to do the following:
2. Please send an email to [email protected] with the subject line: Vaccine Symptoms so I am aware of your child’s specific situation.
Obviously we want to continue to center on the health and safety of all members of our community, so if your child has symptoms and is able to stay home to recover and can participate in eLearning, that is ideal.
Helpful Links
You may find the information in the below links to be helpful.
Please contact me if you have questions or if I can assist you in any way.
Best,
Anne Riggs
Baker School Nurse
Baker Demonstration School
(847) 425-5816
