The global hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine for kids is only just beginning — a lagging start that has some
Older adults may be most vulnerable to the coronavirus, but ending the pandemic will require vaccinating children, too. Last week,
“I just figured the more people they have to do tests on, the quicker they can put out a vaccine and people can be safe and healthy,” said 16-year-old
Multiple vaccine candidates are in final-stage studies in tens of thousands of adults, and scientists are hopeful that the next few months will bring evidence that at least some of them are safe and effective enough for widespread use.
But when the first shots arrive, they're unlikely to be recommended for children. Vaccines can’t be given to youngsters unless they’ve been tested in their age group -- a major hurdle in efforts to reopen schools and resume more normal activities that are critical to families' well-being.
“The public doesn’t understand that,” said Dr.
Children represent about 10% of COVID-19 cases documented in the
Overall, Anderson says COVID-19's impact on children is greater than some other diseases that require routine pediatric vaccinations.
Aside from their own health risks is the still unanswered question about how easily children can infect others. In a letter to federal health officials, the AAP cited recent evidence that those over age 10 may spread the virus just as easily as adults do.
Add missing school and other factors unique to children, and it’s unethical “to allow children to take on great burdens during this pandemic but not have the opportunity to benefit from a vaccine,” Dr.
Globally, pediatric studies are only hesitantly emerging. In
A British study of a vaccine by AstraZeneca allows for testing of a low dose in certain children but the company says it won't be recruiting youngsters until it has “sufficient” safety data in adults.
In the
Doing so is critical, said Dr.
“If we immunize adolescents -- and potentially move down into younger children -- we’re going to have the effect of keeping those children from getting infected. But then also they don’t bring the infection home to parents and grandparents,” he said.
Frenck is finding lots of interest in Pfizer’s adolescent testing, with 90 families seeking more information in just a week after his team issued a call for 16- and 17-year-old volunteers. The researchers plan to enroll 12- to 15-year-olds soon.
Katelyn, the suburban
“I’ve learned about DNA and RNA and all that stuff in biology in freshman year. And I guess I didn’t really know, like, how it applied to the real world until now,” she said.
It makes sense to start pediatric testing in teenagers and gradually work down in age, Frenck said, because adolescents usually receive adult-sized doses of other vaccines -- and so far with Pfizer’s shots, serious safety problems haven’t emerged in adult testing.
Assuming Pfizer’s shot is proven to work in adults, Frenck said the key will be if the vaccine revs up adolescents’ immune systems the same way -- without different side effects. He said if all goes well, it’s possible scientists may have an answer about the 12-and-older group by spring.
But younger children need their own testing. Anderson, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at
“It is quite important for us to begin the process because this will take some time to do the studies the right way,” he said.
AP video journalist
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