While the Biden government continues to vaccinate millions of Americans before COVID-19 further mutates, health experts and drugmakers have focused their attention on vaccinating children in hopes of surpassing the threshold for herd immunity to the virus.
“By the end of spring, early in the summer, we will hopefully be able to vaccinate children under FDA guidance,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert in infectious diseases, said last week.
Although children are less likely than adults to develop serious diseases due to COVID-19, they are known to contract and spread the disease asymptomatically. Fauci estimated that the herd immunity threshold for COVID-19 is between 70 and 85 percent of the population, meaning that those vaccinated or exposed to the virus reach a high level to prevent its spread. Since nearly a quarter of the U.S. population is under 18, at least some children need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.
As of February 1, more than 31 million Americans, most older than 65, had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. In the coming weeks, the effects of the vaccine are expected to extend beyond health workers and the elderly, but neither of the two vaccines has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for children. Pfizer’s vaccine is purified for people 16 years and older, while Moderna’s are approved for those 18 years or older.
Both companies started trials for children aged 12, but Moderna struggled to find enough young participants. Yahoo News Medical Contributor, dr. “Kavita Patel, explains the need for trials in children under 18 and 16. use in adults and especially the elderly,” said Patel. “In addition, we need to make sure that the two-dose approach is still needed.”
If the trials go well, the coronavirus vaccines will be tested in younger age groups.
“Over the next few months, we’re going to try in a de-escalation way,” Fauci said last week.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control have shown that children and adolescents are less likely than adults to become infected or have serious illnesses due to COVID-19.
Patel emphasizes that vaccinating children is not just a matter of establishing herd immunity, as some children do get sick and need medical care. As of Jan. 21, nearly 2.6 million American children tested positive for COVID-19, according to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, with between 1.2 and 2.9 percent of the number needing hospitalization.
The approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children could also help accelerate Biden’s goal of reopening schools, but Patel warns that children aged 6 and under will have to wait until there is more data from clinical trials.
“What we hope will happen is that enough people over the age of 16 will get the vaccine to create the herd immunity,” Patel said, adding. ‘I think in 2021 a vaccine will probably be approved for the age of 12 and older, maybe 8 or 6 and higher, but not for the youngest age group [age 6 and under] until at most 2022. But it again depends on what we have learned from the safety and effectiveness of children. ”
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