Then there were those parents, sadists, I was sure, and they whispered about how it would last until the end of the school year.
Nobody knew then when schools would reopen, and here’s a truth I do not want to admit – nobody knows it now.
Like so many parents, I am desperate for clarity. I want to hope. I also want to plan.
Should we budget for extra childcare again next year if there is no personal school? Or should we find ways to reduce at work? Should we sign up for summer camps? Then, the hardest, what do we say to our children when they look us in the eye and ask when-o-when, can they hold birthday parties, soccer games and sleep out and the incalculable other rites of passage they are denied? How much more do we have to say no?
Parents, caregivers, children: We just do not know.
High cases, new variants, teachers’ union negotiations and extensive and expensive protocols for safe reopening of schools make it difficult to return to our children’s pre-pandemic life.
Experts agree that a widely available vaccination for children would simplify the process, but we do not know when we can expect it and whether it is necessary for a safe return.
The state of research on children
Now that Covid-19 vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective in adults, drug companies have begun studying the same vaccines in children. Researchers are currently focusing on teens and twins with the intention of eventually working their way to younger children, as safety in older children is proven in clinical trials.
“From an ethical point of view, you do not want to start studying medicine with vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women until you have a proven safety and efficacy in the adult population,” said Dr. Larry Kociolek, a specialist and medical medicine for infectious diseases in children, explains director of infection prevention and control at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.
Children older than 16 were included in adult trials, and the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has now been approved for ages 16 and older. (The Moderna vaccine is approved for adults 18 and older.) Their vaccinations are a matter of vaccine availability – which is another point of uncertainty.
Children aged 12 to 17 are currently being studied, although the timing of when these results may appear is unclear. Children under 12 have yet to be studied, but things are progressing fast.
“No U.S. studies that have been opened fall into those age groups, and the exact timeline for starting studies on younger children is not available,” said Dr. Evan Anderson, professor of pediatrics at Emory University and a physician at Children’s Healthcare in Atlanta, said. .
Older teens can be vaccinated by fall
If you have a 16-year-old at home, the chances are high that they will be vaccinated in time for the new school year this autumn, experts say. But it is increasingly doubted whether the vaccination – and the second follow-up shot – will happen in time for the summer camp.
Those over the age of 12 are next in line and have a good chance of seeing a vaccine in time for the next school year, which will make it more likely that they will go back to school.
Do you have children aged 12 and under? Do not count on the vaccine in time for autumn.
“It is possible that that age group may be eligible as early as late summer or early fall, but it can be optimistic. But even if it does, it will take a few months or longer to spread the vaccine widely,” Kociolek said. said.
Anderson believes it is still possible to give the primary school children a vaccine in time for the next school year, “but the window closes quickly.”
Herd immunity and reopening at school
Well. We can not hold our breath for vaccines for 12-year-olds under the time for the next school year. But what impact does this have on this age group that may return to school next year?
Widespread vaccination and herd immunity will remove much of the risk, even if schools cannot follow these protocols. Is vaccination of adults sufficient to establish immunity and limit risks? Or is it unsafe until children are vaccinated as well?
The experts are divided on this.
A widespread pediatric vaccine should be a priority, Anderson said.
“To ensure that we can move completely out of pandemic mode, we need to ensure that our children are able to receive, well, a vaccine,” he explained. “Otherwise, you have an ongoing reservoir of children susceptible to Covid-19. We will probably see persistent transmission among young children and the virus that jumps from this group to other non-vaccinated or individuals.”
He is concerned that children may give it to immunocompromised adults who may not respond to the vaccine. He is also concerned about children becoming ill themselves; although Covid-19 is much less dangerous for children, it is not risk free. The number of children killed by Covid-19 in the past year was similar to a particularly fatal flu season. “We vaccinated them for flu,” he said.
Will vaccinated adults reduce the risk of children?
Other experts would like to emphasize that the likelihood of children getting Covid-19 will decrease significantly if adults are vaccinated.
“As far as Covid-19 in children is concerned, the greatest risk to children is exposure of those who care in their homes,” Kociolek explained. “We know if our parents get vaccinated against whooping cough, for example, it can occur in babies. We call it cocoon injection, and it’s a way to protect children by creating a web of immunity.”
If you take into account all the people who have already contracted the coronavirus and combine the factor with those who are likely to get the vaccine in the next six months, it seems likely that we will achieve herd immunity without a vaccination for children. dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital.
“You probably don’t need to vaccinate children to stop the spread,” he said.
Educators are not sure at first. Some are already calling for teachers and students to be vaccinated before they can work again. Many others are waiting to follow the guidance of scientists and public health officials.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said it was possible that a safe reopening for everyone could include a vaccine for children, ‘but we do not yet have the science on that. I’m a science teacher, so I know we need to listen to the professionals. We do not make any statement yet. ‘
To live with uncertainty
“What I’m telling you (late January) may not be very fast accurate, given how fast it moves,” Kociolek said. This is a sentiment that is expressed by many of his medical colleagues. There are so many unknowns, so many variables, and they can all change. This leads us back to more uncertainty.
There is a certain relief to accept the uncertainty and end the speculation. It reminds us to make only plans that can be easily broken, and not to count on anything that will break our children’s hearts if it has to be canceled.
I hesitate to suggest that this is an opportunity to teach children about insecurity, as I am not sure our children need more lessons from this furshlugginer (Yiddish for “piece of junk”) pandemic, as my firstborn is now referred to it. At this point, the children were probably all left out.
However, children appreciate honesty. Tell older children that you do not know if they will return to school this spring. If they are younger, tell them you do not know if they are going camping next fall or going back to school.
Tell them that many good, hardworking people are doing what they can to make it happen as soon as possible. Will they succeed? Finally, yes. We just do not know when.
Elissa Strauss is a regular contributor to CNN, where she writes about the politics and culture of parenting.