WINDSOR, ONT. -- People who live with or work closely with children are starting to get vaccinated for COVID-19, but children themselves are still not protected by the shot.

“My heart broke down when I read the news about the 13-year-old girl from Brampton who died of COVID,” says Dr. Wajid Ahmed.

Ahmed says as a father, he can't imagine seeing one of his children in pain.

“Please do not let a tragedy teach you how deadly it can be. Please continue to follow the public health measures. Get the first vaccine that is available to you,” says Ahmed.

The medical officer of health is sending a very strong reminder for everyone to not to take COVID-19 disease lightly.

“As of now none of the vaccines have been approved in children under the age of 16 or under the age of 18 for Moderna,” says Windsor Regional Hospital chief of staff Dr. Wassim Saad

Saad says the coronavirus causes similar symptoms in children as it does in adults.

“The three main ones though in children are fever, dry cough or an intense sense of fatigue or tiredness. Those are relatively common symptoms that you can pick up in children,” says Saad.

But throughout the pandemic, Saad says children have been relatively less impacted.

“If they are going to get coronavirus, most of them get very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all compared to what an adult would experience,” says Saad.

Parents should still be watchful.

“It’s good to be aware what are symptoms are for coronavirus, but not to panic if your child gets a fever, they are more likely to have something other than coronavirus and even if it was coronavirus the odds are very much in their favor that they will improve,” says Saad.

Saad says there are warning signs for parents to look for in children and seek medical attention.

“An intense chest pain or pressure, trouble breathing, lethargy or fatigue to the point where you are not able to wake them or they can get out of bed. Those are symptoms we would say to go to the hospital for sure.”

So far, the third wave has yet to see any children in the ICU at Windsor Regional Hospital, but Dr. Saad encourages parents not to ignore symptoms and to be seen in emergency if needed.