When will children and adolescents be vaccinated?
1:30
(CNN) -
Between 2 and 3 million covid-19 vaccines are administered every day in the United States.
That means that many parents are being vaccinated, but not their children, since the vaccine is not yet licensed for children under 16 years of age.
While many parents can breathe a sigh of relief from their own vaccinations, it can be difficult to feel really calm while their children are not vaccinated.
It is the children who need to play on the playground, socialize with classmates and friends, and hang out without parents worrying all the time.
How should vaccinated parents approach decisions about when to play, go to restaurants, and vacations while their children are not vaccinated?
Dr. Leana Wen, CNN Medical Analyst, ER Physician, and Visiting Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, talks about it.
When can children and adolescents be vaccinated against covid-19?
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26:03
CNN: When do you think vaccines for children will be available?
Dr. Leana Wen:
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is currently licensed for people 16 years of age and older;
all other vaccinations are for 18 years and older only.
Studies are being done for younger age groups.
Dr. Anthony Fauci (the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) has projected that by late summer the results could be available for those 12 and older, and teens could begin getting vaccinated early in the year. school year.
Younger children probably won't be able to get the vaccine until 2022.
CNN: That's a long way.
Will children be able to return to school for classes in person in the fall?
Wen:
Yes, and now they should also be able to return to school in person.
Numerous studies have shown that mitigation measures, such as universal use of masks, can reduce risk in such a way that the transmission rate in schools is lower than the transmission rate in the community.
That means schools can be some of the safest places for children.
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It will be important for all teachers, school staff, and parents to be vaccinated before fall.
That helps further reduce transmission in the community and protects those who cannot yet get vaccinated, especially children.
CNN: Meanwhile, many parents are getting vaccinated.
What do you advise them?
Can children visit grandparents so the children are not vaccinated?
Wen:
Vaccinating parents is really important.
It reduces your own likelihood of illness and also reduces the likelihood of transmitting the coronavirus to the people around you, including your children.
It also makes visits from other family members safer.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] has said that fully vaccinated people can visit another family in which not everyone is vaccinated, as long as those who are not yet vaccinated are not at high risk. of contracting a serious illness from covid-19.
That means it's okay for grandparents to visit and stay with their children and grandchildren, have dinner with them indoors, hug them, and don't wear masks.
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4:00
CNN: How about visiting another family where parents are vaccinated but children are not?
Wen:
This is where we get into tricky territory.
Grandparents who are vaccinated and visit a family with some unvaccinated members is one thing, but it is another when there are two families, each with unvaccinated people, visiting each other.
What we do know is that adults are more likely to transmit the coronavirus than young children.
It's also worth noting that teens appear to transmit coronavirus at the same rate as adults.
If people who are not vaccinated get together, there is a risk that they will acquire and transmit COVID-19.
For now, while the United States has a high baseline level of circulating coronavirus, families with unvaccinated individuals are best seen only outdoors, with members of different families separated by two meters.
If children play together and cannot always meet a distance of two meters, they should wear masks.
Try to be outdoors at all times.
If people must be indoors, they should wear masks with each other.
And be especially careful if your child has underlying medical conditions.
Again, wearing face masks for them and everyone around them is really crucial.
CNN: Are there any circumstances in which families with children can be safely reunited?
What if three families want to rent a house together?
Wen:
If there are three families, all with unvaccinated children, who want to get together for an extended period of time and want to be in a shared space like a house, I suggest they quarantine themselves and get tested.
Specifically, I advise that unvaccinated members of each family should reduce risk for seven days and then get tested, or reduce risk for 14 days before the reunion, if testing is not readily available.
What this means is that there are no other gatherings, especially indoors, during this period.
My guidance here is that those who are vaccinated probably don't need to be tested, as their likelihood of contracting and transmitting the coronavirus is much lower.
But as a precaution, before such a gathering indoors, I still encourage vaccinated people to reduce the risk in this period as well.
Single-dose vaccines, as effective as double-dose 27:25
CNN: What about going to restaurants?
Should parents go alone or is it okay to bring their children?
Wen:
I think it is important to clarify that there is practically nothing that is 100% safe.
It's all about understanding relative risk and then trying to measure risk and manage it for each family.
Take-out will remain the safest, followed by a cookout.
Eating indoors still carries some degree of risk.
The risk for vaccinated parents is much lower than before being fully vaccinated.
It is okay for people to weigh their risks and decide that after vaccination they want to enjoy some of their pre-pandemic activities.
Parents who want to go to restaurants once in a while should do so and try to be outside.
If you are dining indoors, choose places that have strict safety protocols, including spacing between tables and good ventilation.
It is an individual family decision about whether to bring unvaccinated children to these circumstances.
The risk is not zero, but probably quite low, in outdoor restaurants.
Indoors, that risk will be higher.
I would be particularly cautious if there is a child who is immunosuppressed or has additional risk factors for severe COVID-19.
CNN: What about attending birthday parties?
Does it matter if all parents in these settings have been vaccinated?
Wen:
I would certainly feel better with a birthday party where I know that all the parents of the children who attend have been vaccinated, because the possibility of someone being an asymptomatic COVID-19 carrier is much lower.
Still, given the number of unvaccinated children there, I wouldn't want to meet indoors.
I would still make sure that the meeting is held outdoors and that there is at least a two meter distance between the families.
Everyone should wear masks.
The same goes for play dates, family gatherings, and other gatherings.
CNN: Many parents want to travel with their children during the summer.
That is sure?
Wen:
This is another situation where we have to talk about relative risk.
A road trip by car is low risk.
Air travel is also fairly low risk, as long as everyone is masked.
My biggest concern with travel is not so much the risk during transit, but what people are doing at their destination.
If every meal has to be in restaurants, that increases the risk substantially.
On the other hand, if you plan to cook or make takeout, the risk is much lower.
The same is true of activities that take place while traveling.
Going to fairly crowded amusement parks and movie theaters is a much higher risk than a hiking and camping vacation.
A large family reunion or wedding will be more risky than a small reunion with just grandparents.
At this point in the pandemic, we must move to the concept of weighing the risk and then trying to reduce it as much as possible.
Having parents vaccinated is an important step in reducing risk, even if children are not yet vaccinated, but there are still steps that must be taken to protect children, and everyone around us, from COVID-19.
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