Children who can’t be vaccinated right now need the support of their families to stay safe from COVID-19, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
How to keep kids safe from COVID-19
Fauci told CNN over the weekend that children need support from their families to stay safe from COVID-19.
- “The way you protect children who, because of their age, cannot get vaccinated yet is to surround the children — be it friends, family, schoolteachers, personnel in the school — surround the children with vaccinated people,” Fauci said.
Are children getting COVID-19?
A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more children visited the hospital and the emergency rooms in states with low COVID-19 vaccination rates.
Is a COVID-19 vaccine for kids on the way?
Officials have added pressure to the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the COVID-19 vaccines for children under 12 years old, according to Politico.
- “Politicians have joined anxious parents and some public health groups in calling on federal regulators to accelerate their process for authorizing shots for the youngest Americans,” Politico reports. “They point to a record number of infections among this age group in recent weeks as schools have reopened.”
However, the FDA has advised caution due to “lack of safety and efficacy data,” per Politico. There has been some discussion about increasing the size of clinical trials so they can identify any problems in children.
- In Chile, health officials authorized the Sinovac vaccine for those 6 years old and older, which made the country the first Latin American nation to do so, according to ABC News.