Pediatric Care During COVID-19
Wellstar is committed to helping children stay healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Count on our dedicated healthcare team to keep your child in safe, expert hands.
COVID-19 Vaccine: Children Ages 5 to 11
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization for children ages 5 to 11 years old. Now, anyone age 5 and older is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Certain immunocompromised children ages 5 to 11 may now receive a third primary series dose. Young people ages 12 and older can also get their booster, as well. Learn more.
Getting vaccinated is an important way to protect your child’s health during the pandemic, especially as new variants of the virus emerge.
Wellstar will be offering COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 years old. For more information or to book a vaccine appointment, contact your child’s Wellstar pediatrician.
You can also schedule a COVID-19 vaccine for your child at your local retail pharmacy or visit vaccines.gov to find a convenient vaccination site close to you.
Pediatric COVID-19 Testing
As new variants of the virus emerge and spread, parents may be worried about their child’s health and possible COVID-19 exposure.
Before you take your child for a COVID-19 test, it’s important to know the proper location for their medical circumstance.
Know Where to Go
If you are concerned your child may have been exposed to COVID-19 and is:
- Asymptomatic (showing no symptoms): Find a local COVID-19 testing site near you.
- Showing mild to moderate symptoms: Contact your Wellstar pediatrician’s office directly to determine the appropriate location to receive care.
- Experiencing severe symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, persistent high fever, unable to keep liquids down, lethargy, or severe gastrointestinal symptoms: Seek immediate medical care at the nearest pediatric emergency department.
Choose the Right Location
Take your child to the right location for their medical circumstance.
For more information about the types of testing offered at Wellstar, visit our main COVID-19 testing page.
If you, your child or a loved one has been diagnosed or exposed to COVID-19, we encourage families to follow the CDC's recommended guidelines for quarantine or isolation, especially for school-aged children.
Keeping Your Child Safe
The best protection against COVID-19 is prevention and stopping community spread.
Young children who are not eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine are counting on the community to take action and get vaccinated. Be sure you and your family members who are age five and up get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Parents can also help protect their child’s health by teaching them the 3Ws — wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance.
Learn how you can make well happen.
For more health tips, visit our COVID-19 resource page.
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Highlights
BacktoSchoolCare: Keeping Kids Healthy & Safe
A new school year is right around the corner. While kids may be the ones returning to the classroom, parents still have their own homework to do too: making sure their child has a healthy start.
Before heading back to school, Wellstar health experts say it’s more important than ever prioritize your child’s physical and emotional well-being.
“Parents can help their children be prepared for school by starting early,” said Wellstar Pediatrician Dr. Andrew Doyle. “Be sure to speak to your children and address any anxieties they may have now about the new school year.”
“Also, getting them scheduled to see their pediatrician for important screenings and immunizations will help them be their healthiest,” he shared.
Highlights
BackToSchoolCare: Checking in on Your Child’s Health
As you prepare for the new school year, give your child a positive start by completing your own homework assignment—checking in on their health.
Before heading back to the classroom, prioritize your child’s physical and emotional well-being with a visit to your family’s Wellstar pediatrician. Our compassionate pediatricians share your goal of keeping children healthy as they grow.
“I believe in treating the whole child. What I mean by that is, of course, their physical health is very important, but I also feel that their emotional health is very important,” said Wellstar Pediatrician Dr. Brandi Lewis. “My goal is for all my patients to be resilient, happy and healthy. My role is to work with families to accomplish that goal.”
Preventative check-ups and screenings help children stay ahead of health issues, and our pediatricians will ensure your child is up to date on their vaccines and discuss which immunizations are needed to prevent disease. Your family’s pediatrician can also help you navigate health requirements at your child’s school.
Heading back to school healthy
Teach your child healthy habits so they can feel their best throughout the school year.
Practice good hygiene.
Show children how to wash their hands properly and remind them to do it frequently. Do not send your children to school if they are sick.
Get moving.
Children should have about 30 to 60 minutes of moderate activity every day. Staying active can be a fun family activity—ride bikes around the block, play tag in the yard or go for a walk in the park.
Eat healthy.
Teach children about good nutrition by encouraging them to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and limiting sugary drinks.
Get plenty of sleep.
Children aged 3 to 5 should get about 10 to 13 hours of sleep a day. Children 6 to 12 years old should get nine to 12 hours, and teenagers need about 8 to 10 hours.
PeopleCare
New Leaky Heart Valve Treatment Gives Thomson Student a Bright Future
Like most seniors, Ja’Quan Hart was very much looking forward to going off to college in the summer of 2023.
The Thomson, Ga., resident had just graduated high school and as a linebacker and tight end, helped lead his Thomson High School Bulldogs to win the Class AA State Championship.
“I had these big tackles, and I caught like an 89-yeard interception pass,” he said. “That was like my best game. We won state!”
Ja’Quan’s talent and skill on the football field—and his love of the game—earned him the opportunity to play for the University of Kansas with a full scholarship.
Unfortunately, life had other plans.
Amid packing for school and booking his flights, Ja’Quan learned from a routine sports physical that he had an irregularity in his heart that could be life-threatening.
That irregularity turned out to be a leaky aortic valve—and an abrupt end to his aspirations of a college football career.
“Blood was flowing back into my heart. It wasn’t going all the way through,” Ja’Quan explained.
In a healthy heart, leaflets between the left and right ventricles open to allow blood to flow through the heart one way and then close fully to keep blood from flowing back into the heart. In a condition like Ja’Quan’s, the leaflets do not close all the way and blood does leak back into the heart.
For most people the treatment for a leaky aortic valve involves a valve replacement. But a valve replacement now will often require another replacement surgery at some point in the future, and probably more than one, said Dr. Brian Bateson, a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon and co-director of the adult congenital heart program at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center. The younger the patient, the more potential surgeries the patient will need to have to replace the valves when they wear out.
Because Ja’Quan had not yet reached 20 years of age at the time of his care, a valve replacement would mean multiple surgeries over the course of his life.
The solution is a new device called the HAART ring that is affixed to the support structure of the aortic valve. This stabilizes the valve and allows for further repair of the leaflets themselves, meaning the valve can close properly and prevent leakage.
“If you’re using Ja’Quan’s own valve, keeping it in place and it functions, potentially he wouldn’t need another procedure again in his life because it’s still his own tissue. It’s not going to break down. Any prosthetic valve, whether it’s mechanical, bio-prosthetic will fail over time,” Dr. Bateson said. “Nothing’s better than what you’re born with.”
The HAART device is ideal for a young patient like Ja’Quan, but would also be a good treatment option for any person—pediatric or adult—with the same condition.
Ja’Quan spent three days in the hospital recovering from his surgery. Since, he has been slowly increasing his cardiovascular activity, such as walking, and following up with Dr. Bateson for regular checkups, who said he has been recovering very well.
Ja’Quan said he plans to continue to play sports, but will need to be more selective about the sports he can play.
“I play basketball. I just won’t be playing contact sports (like football),” he said.
Though he said it was disappointing to have to change direction as far as playing college football is concerned, Ja’Quan hasn’t let it dampen his spirit. Instead of college football, he is now exploring the possibility of driving trucks with the intention of going into business for himself—as long as it isn’t too strenuous for his heart.
“I’m not going to give up. I’m going to regroup and keep going and find another path to being successful in life,” he said.