COVID19 Update February 2021

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Greetings Legacy Family. We are closing in on a full year since the start of the COVID 19 Pandemic and never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined what has transpired over the past year.

Legacy would like to give a huge shout out to all the kids, parents, teachers and staff who have all done an amazing job this school year. Transmission of COVID in schools is nearly ZERO due to everyone’s efforts. We have good data now that mask wearing by everyone at school results in schools being safe for everyone.  This gives us hope that schools will open up fully soon.

Legacy continues to see sick and well children safely, and we have a very efficient system in place to evaluate and test those kids who need COVID testing to return to school and daycare.  We continue to have same day sick visits for those who need them, and we enjoy seeing everyone come in for their routine physicals. April and May’s schedules are in the computer so if your school-age child has a birthday in those months, give us a call and book their yearly physical.

COVID vaccines and variants are common topics we discuss with everyone right now. Everyone at Legacy has now been vaccinated for COVID and we are all incredibly grateful to have that protection. We strongly recommend getting vaccinated when you are able. As we head into the spring and summer and as other vaccines become FDA approved, there will be greater opportunity to get everyone vaccinated. Starting next week those over 16 with a qualifying condition will be eligible to receive a COVID vaccine with a letter from their provider. We have letters ready to go so please give us a call if you think your teen or young adult may qualify for a COVID vaccine.

We are often asked when school-age children will be able to get vaccinated. In order for the vaccines to get FDA approved for use in children under 16, the vaccine companies have to do trials just like they did with adults to establish a tolerated dose and to show that the vaccines work. Luckily, Legacy is very involved with Rochester Clinical Research and the upcoming Pfizer vaccine trial for 5- to 11-year-olds will be starting in June. As the time nears, you will hear more about it and if you or your child is interested in participating, send us a message through your child’s portal page and we will put you on a list to contact when we have more information about the trial. Given the need for efficacy trials, the timeline for vaccinating school-age kids will probably be 1st quarter 2022.