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What you need to know about the delta variant
The delta variant became the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States in the summer of 2021, leading to an increase in cases and hospitalizations.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has said the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus has created “a new and urgent risk” for children amid its continued spread, underscoring the need to authorize vaccines for this age group.
The organization wrote a letter to the United States Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, urging the agency to work “aggressively” to authorize a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine for children under 12 as soon as possible. possible.
The United States has recorded “the largest week-over-week percentage increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic,” the group wrote in the letter to Dr. Janet Woodcok, the Acting Commissioner of the FDA.
A total of 71,726 cases of COVID in children were reported in the last week of July, “almost double the 38,654 reported the week before,” according to the AAP. The professional nonprofit organization has been following this information since the start of the pandemic with the Children’s Hospital Association.
“Put simply, the delta variant has created a new and urgent risk for children and adolescents across the country, as it has also done for unvaccinated adults,” the letter said.
FILE – A woman and child visit Waterwall Park on August 3, 2021, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
The letter comes amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations nationwide and as schools prepare to welcome students back to classrooms. At the same time, regulators continue to review cases of a rare type of heart inflammation called myocarditis that have been reported in a small number of adolescents who have received Moderna or Pfizer injections.
RELATED: U.S. schools reopen amid COVID-19 outbreak with optional masks for many
To date, only the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for ages 12 and over. The FDA is currently considering expanding the use of the Moderna vaccine to the same age group.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is testing its two-dose vaccine in up to 4,500 children in the United States and Europe. The company has previously said it expects data on children aged 5 to 11 from its ongoing pediatric trials to be available in September and on the younger age group soon after.
Moderna said she expects to have enough data to seek FDA clearance in young children by the end of this year or early 2022.
In the letter, the AAP said the spread of the delta variant has fueled the urgency for authorization for the 5 to 11-year-old age group of these “must-have vaccines.”
“The FDA should seriously consider authorizing these vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 years based on data from the initial enrolled cohort, which is already available, while continuing to monitor safety data from the extended cohort. in the post-marketing context, ”the letter reads. States.
He continues: “Based on the scientific data currently available on COVID-19 vaccines, as well as on 70 years of knowledge in vaccinology in the pediatric population, the Academy believes that clinical trials in these children can be conducted safely. with a 2-month safety follow-up. -up for participants. “
More than 4.1 million children and adolescents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the AAP. At least 358 have died, or 0.01% of all childhood virus cases.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, said that while most children who contract the virus do not require hospitalization, there is still a risk that parents should be aware of.
In the United States, the 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases increased by 43%
Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, described the increase in COVID-19-related deaths, cases and hospitalizations during the White House COVID-19 press conference on Thursday .
“The likelihood of a child contracting a serious illness compared to an elderly person or someone with an underlying illness is absolutely less, but less does not mean zero,” Fauci said on Sunday on “Meet the Press. “from NBC. “All you have to do is do a survey of pediatric hospitals across the country, and you see a huge number of young people who are not only infected but who are seriously ill. Again, the numbers compared to older people are less, but that’s a false comparison. “
“These children are getting sick. We really have to make sure we protect them,” Fauci added.
RELATED: Moderna COVID-19 vaccine cleared in EU for children aged 12 to 17
The push for vaccine approval in young children comes as many are set to return to class for the 2021-2022 school year.
Last month, the AAP recommended universal masking in schools, even for those who are vaccinated. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended wearing the mask indoors only for students and staff who are not fully immunized.
The recommendations were not adopted by some heads of state, who responded by completely banning face coverings in classrooms in the fall.
Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah have banned mandatory masks in public schools.
On the other end of the spectrum, California, Louisiana, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington state intend to require masks for all students and teachers, regardless of their immunization status.
This story was reported from Cincinnati.
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