Last week, my partner got her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and I felt a pang of vaccine envy. Of course, she was eligible—she’s a teacher at an elementary school and had a serious illness last fall, which put her at high risk for COVID complications. Getting her a vaccine appointment was a huge relief for our family. However, I began to wonder when I would be vaccinated myself. As a 38-year-old man with no health issues and a job that allows me to work from home, it may be a while. More importantly, I started to think about when my kids—aged 6, 11, and 13—would be able to get vaccinated. I know many parents are asking the same question.
To find some answers, I turned to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading epidemiologist in the U.S. In a recent interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, he provided a tentative timeline: “If you project realistically, when we will be able to get enough data to be able to say that elementary school children will be able to be vaccinated, I would think that would be, at the earliest, the end of the year, and very likely the first quarter of 2022.”
Currently, the FDA has granted emergency authorization to three COVID-19 vaccines. According to CNBC, the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines are approved for adults aged 18 and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which my partner received, is authorized for those 16 and older.
Right now, it’s crucial to vaccinate as many adults as possible. CDC data shows that children usually don’t get as sick from COVID-19 as adults do, but they can still contract and transmit the virus. Some children have become seriously ill, requiring intensive care, and some have even died from it. If we want to return our children to school and restore normalcy, we need an approved vaccine for them. Vaccinating kids is key to achieving herd immunity, and until we reach that goal, measures like social distancing, mask-wearing, and school closures will continue.
While I support COVID-19 precautions, I admit I’m weary of this lifestyle. I miss socializing, dropping my kids off at school, and going into the office. Many of you likely feel the same way. However, until both adults and children can get vaccinated, this is our reality.
To update you on the progress regarding children’s vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna began recruiting participants for their clinical trials late last year. Oxford University, which developed a vaccine with AstraZeneca, was set to start trials on 12-to-18-year-olds this month. Now that Johnson & Johnson has received approval for adult use in the U.S., they are preparing to begin trials on children, including infants. The plan is to start with teenagers and work down in age.
Returning to Dr. Fauci’s interview, he expressed optimism that teenagers could start receiving the vaccine by the beginning of the school year. “I’m not sure it’s exactly on the first day school opens, but pretty close to that,” he mentioned.
In summary, while there is cautious optimism and movement toward vaccinating children, it may still take some time before we see shots in the arms of our kids. This means that it will be a while before we can return to the kind of normalcy we once knew regarding in-person schooling and social activities. However, we have persevered through these challenging times, and there is at least a flicker of hope on the horizon.
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