![]() ![]() must finish vaccinating priority groups, such as those with underlying conditions. She noted that these trials are already fully enrolled and are focused on the safety and immune responses of the shots within this age group. Talaat, who does work in both COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials as well as vaccine safety, said she anticipates vaccines becoming available for older kids even sooner - possibly by early summer. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, has estimated that high school-age children could get vaccinated in the fall. If the FDA clears the results from ongoing studies, younger teens likewise could start getting vaccinated as supply allows.ĭr. The Moderna vaccine is currently cleared for people 18 and older. The Pfizer vaccine is already cleared for use starting at age 16, meaning some older kids can get in line for the shot depending on eligibility in their area. Vaccine researchers started with older children in trials because they tend to respond to the shots most similarly to adults, experts say. Johnson & Johnson, the most recent vaccine to receive an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, is beginning to enroll participants in its study for children 12 and up. for adults, started a study this week of its shot in children under 12 - including babies as young as 6 months.īoth Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have completed enrollment for studies of children ages 12 and older and are expected to release the data in the months ahead. ![]() Moderna, one of three coronavirus vaccines currently being used in the U.S. RELATED: NIH launches research effort to understand MIS-C, other effects of COVID-19 on children In order to get back to where they can be sitting in a classroom full of kids without masks, be seeing their teachers in real life, they need to be vaccinated." "(Children) haven’t been able to go to school, they haven’t been able to see their friends. "That’s a lot of kids," Talaat said of the number of child COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. More than 260 children have died from the virus. Some have gotten MIS-C, a rare inflammatory syndrome in children linked to COVID-19. ![]() While rates are lower compared to adults, thousands of kids have been hospitalized with the virus over the course of the pandemic. For Talaat, who has been working on vaccine research for more than a decade and has spent the past year focused specifically on coronavirus vaccines, there are two reasons to vaccinate kids: one being to end the pandemic, and the other for their own protection. RELATED: Moderna begins study of COVID-19 vaccine in children under 12Ĭhildren develop serious illness or die from COVID-19 at much lower rates than adults, but they do still get sick and can still spread the virus. "This is the lynchpin to getting everything back to some kind of normalcy." "It’s unlikely we could get community protection without immunizing children," Long said. Sarah Long told the Associated Press that immunizing children will be vital to society returning to a time before masks and social distancing. Drexel University pediatrics professor Dr. (Photo: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)Ĭonsidering some adults will not be immunized for various reasons, vaccinating the country’s younger population is a needed step to achieving widespread immunity to the virus. FILE - A third grade student sits during his online class from his social distanced desk on Sept. ![]()
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