The FDA has asked companies to expand clinical trials in children ages 5 to 11 after reports of rare side effects in young adults. But as the more transmissible Delta variant drives a fourth surge, parents are getting anxious.
Millions of parents across the nation are facing a stressful dilemma in the coming weeks: whether to send their children back to school for in-person instruction as the highly transmissible Delta variant surges across the country.
There were 93,824 new cases among U.S. children recorded the week of August 5, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a 30 percent increase from the previous week and the highest since February. Hospitalizations are also rising among those under the age of 17.
But even though cases are rising, it’s not clear whether this means that kids are more susceptible to Delta than previous strains. Infections are surging among all those who remain unvaccinated—which includes all children under 12, who are not yet eligible for the vaccine.
Although kids 12 and older became eligible for Pfizer’s vaccine in May, it’s not clear when younger kids will be able to get their shot. Despite initial hopes that the vaccines would be available in early fall, experts now believe that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is not likely to grant that authorization until late November. (Here’s the latest on COVID-19 vaccines.)
That has led many parents to ask what’s taking so long—and whether it’s possible to speed things up. But Joseph Domachowske, professor of pediatrics at State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, points out that for every parent asking why the FDA isn’t moving faster, there are others asking, “Why are you going so fast?”Read More…
