Orange County

AdventHealth doctors says eligible children should get COVID-19 vaccines before school starts

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County saw 638 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. The cases have risen daily over the last two weeks.

AdventHealth doctors are concerned about kids and said if they are not vaccinated, they should be masked.

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Data shows 70% to 80% of the new cases are now caused by the COVID-19 Delta variant.

AdventHealth said they have 430 patients in their hospitals, which is up about 100 from last week.

Doctors now say it’s time to get the vaccine before school starts.

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It will take a month for the full effects of those two dose shots to kick in, giving you the best protection from this variant and others.

But that isn’t enough.

Since kids 12 and under still can’t get the vaccine, doctors said they need to be masked in class for now.

Doctors said some parents are worried about adverse reactions to the vaccine for kids who are eligible, including inflammation around the heart.

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Doctors said they have seen a problem in only 1 in 10,000 cases so parents should not be worried.

Getting COVID-19 is much riskier.

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Shannon Butler

Shannon Butler, WFTV.com

Shannon joined the Eyewitness News team in 2013.

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