Dr. Miranda Lanning| For The Register-Guard

CDC relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines

The nation's top public health agency relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. (Aug. 12)

AP

The start of the school year is just around the corner. As you stock up on new clothes and school supplies, its also a great time to call your pediatricians office to schedule your next well child check.

Infants, children and adolescents need regular well child checks. Infants are scheduled every two to three months and children 2 and older should be seen yearly by their pediatrician. Well child checks are covered as preventative care by Oregon Health Plan and commercial insurances. Yearly well exams are separate from sick visits and other office visits and are important to assess the health of the child. We include regular screenings like blood pressure, hearing and vision tests. At these visits, we also review important guidance about topics such as healthy eating, exercise, screen time, injury prevention, growth and development.

Another important component of well care is updating vaccines. We will make sure that your childs vaccines are up to date during their visit and check if youve missed any recommended immunizations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older. If you would like your child to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, ask about it when you schedule a well child check as some clinics will have separate COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Remember that the Pfizer series for young children takes 13 weeks to provide maximum immunity so I recommend starting the series soon for optimal protection this fall and before holiday gatherings or travel.

Well child checks are also a perfect opportunity to complete your childs sports physical and to fill out a pre-participation form prior to sports this year. As we are filling out this form, its important to tell the doctor if your child has had a COVID-19 infection and particularly if any symptoms are ongoing. We want to make sure that your childs heart and lungs are healthy before participating in sports or physical fitness activities.

We know the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of our lives and I am noticing that many families missed regular medical or dental appointments over the past few years. Various families I work with are surprised to discover more than a year has gone by since their childs last appointment.

I have also seen many changes in my patients over the course of the pandemic. The effects of the pandemic have been far reaching and I have seen patients with everything from new vision problems or changing mental health concerns. We can identify and discuss these changes during a well child exam and create a comprehensive plan for follow up care.

No matter how long it has been since your childs last visit, were glad to see you and will do everything we can to help ensure that your child has a healthy start to the new school year.

Dr. Miranda Lanning is apediatrician with PeaceHealth Medical Group. PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Washington, is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. For more ways to stay your healthiest: peacehealth.org/healthy-you.

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Back to school includes annual well child check - The Register-Guard