High school students in the United States should be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations by the fall, with younger students likely to be cleared for vaccinations in early 2022, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, said Sunday.
“We plan that high school students can probably be vaccinated by the fall period, maybe not the first day, but definitely in the early part of the fall,” Fauci told CBS.
He said primary school children are likely to be ready to get vaccinated by the first term of next year, after completing safety studies.
Currently, the vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are only approved for 18-year-olds and the Pfizer shot is being cleared for those as young as 16.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said high school students could be eligible for shots before the fall, and younger students are likely to be cleared for vaccinations in early 2022.
A student in Alexandria, Virginia, looking at a tablet next to classmates at a desk surrounded by plastic sheeting during a personal hybrid learning day
As further studies are done, it is expected that the vaccines for younger children can be cleaned if they are safe and effective for children.
In most states, decisions are made about whether schools should be open at the local level. Iowa, Arkansas, Texas and Florida have ordered all their schools to remain open, and West Virginia requires elementary schools to hold classes.
Fauci also said he expects the CDC to issue relaxed guidelines for people who have already been vaccinated within “the next few days,” but insists on ongoing vigilance over mitigation measures for the more than 80 percent of Americans who are still waiting for shots.
‘We’re going in the right direction. We just need to stay there a little longer, ‘Fauci said.
‘We want the mortality rate of the virus to be very, very low, and then we will have a much, much easier time to withdraw safely’ about the mitigation measures.
The United States currently vaccinates an average of 2.1 million people a day, but the gains made against the virus in the past month show signs of declining.
Nationwide, the U.S. last week reported a 3 percent decline in new cases of COVID-19, a much smaller drop than in the previous six weeks.
New cases fell to 25 percent in the week ending Feb. 7 and 23 percent in the week ended Feb. 21, according to the Reuters analysis, before being flattened last week.
The decrease in cases began to flatten at 60,000 to 70,000 new infections per day, which according to Fauci was not acceptable.
He pointed to the need to continue mask mandates and other mitigation measures to avoid a boom as new variants emerge.
A new variant has spread in the New York area and was ‘quite powerful’ in its ability to slightly distribute the protection of monoclonal antibodies and the vaccines, he said.
People in passing vehicles showed up in a caravan during an “Open Schools Now” event last month calling for schools in Los Angeles to reopen.
A student raises his hand to ask a question on March 2 in Alexandria, Virginia
“One of the things I think we need to point out is that every day that passes if we keep the lid on, it will get better and better because we put at least two million vaccinations in the arms of individuals every day,” he said.
‘And as the days and weeks go by, you have more and more protection, not only for individuals but also for the community. So we are going in the right direction. We just need to stay in there a little longer. ‘
Fauci said vaccine supply would increase “dramatically” in the coming weeks as production increased.
The CDC administered 90,351,750 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday morning and distributed 116,363,405 doses.
According to the agency, 58,873,710 people received one or more doses, while 30,686,881 people received the second dose as of Sunday.
A total of 7389102 doses of vaccines were administered in long-term care settings, the agency said.