Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Monday explained how he is trying to protect his three young daughters from the coronavirus while still allowing friends to visit before their age groups can vaccinate against Covid-19.
Gottlieb outlined his approach to ‘Squawk Box’ after co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the former FDA chief for his thoughts on indoor play dates for children if their parents are fully vaccinated.
“I suggest activities with my children again, but I do it, I hope, in a careful way, where I still keep the social network somewhat defined. I keep in mind how many people they interact with. with whom they interact, ‘said Gottlieb, who led the Food and Drug Administration in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. He is now on the board of Pfizer, which makes one of the three Covid vaccines approved for emergency use in the US
“A lot of their play data was with kids in their class, for example,” Gottlieb said. “Why? Because this is their social pod. They are already exposed to the social pod and therefore we try to keep the interactions within the defined pod.”
None of the vaccines used in the US have yet been approved for young children.
Johnson & Johnson’s single-vaccine and Moderna’s dual-dose vaccine have received limited authorization for people 18 years and older. In contrast, the FDA has allowed Pfizer’s two-shot vaccine to be given to people 16 years and older.
All three drug manufacturers test the vaccine in children, although the clinical trials are at different stages and examine different age groups.
Pfizer said Wednesday that the vaccine was 100% effective in adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15, and Gottlieb told CNBC that he hopes it can be made available by the FDA to the group of children by the fall.
Experts believe that the vaccination of children is necessary for the US to bring about the so-called herd immunity. This is the point where enough people in a population have antibodies to fight the virus against vaccines or earlier infections, thus greatly reducing its spread.
“Children are clearly less vulnerable to the infection, but being less vulnerable does not mean they are not vulnerable, and we are seeing some children get sick from the coronavirus,” Gottlieb said.
As more adults are currently being vaccinated and feel comfortable resuming their activities, they avoided the pandemic earlier – such as traveling, eating indoors and seeing friends and family – some wondering how they should risk their children regard.
“The parents who are vaccinated reduce the risk that the children have the infection … because many of the infections we see during contact detection are actually children who become infected by their parents, not children who become infected at school,” he said. Gottlieb said. “If you are with families where adults have been vaccinated, the children are less likely to get the infection.”
Gottlieb stressed, however, that even vaccinated Americans should note that the pandemic, which has been going on for more than a year, is not over yet. He said, for example, that someone who received a Covid shot should still wear a mask around an individual who did not fare.
“People who are vaccinated may feel that they are much less likely to get seriously ill,” he said. “They are less likely to get the infection and less likely to pass on the evidence. … But if you are close to vulnerable people, there is still a possibility, even if you have been vaccinated, that you may be asymptotic and the virus can shed and transmit the virus to that vulnerable person. ‘
– CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a contributor to CNBC and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, drafting genetic tests Tempus, the healthcare company Aetion Inc. and the biotechnology company. Illumina. He also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings‘and Royal Caribbean‘s “Healthy Sail Panel.”