When can children get the COVID-19 vaccine?

First-year students may be able to get their COVID-19 vaccine by September, White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci predicted in an interview published by ProPublica on Thursday.

Fauci quoted clinical tests currently underway in the United States by vaccine developers Pfizer and Moderna to test the safety and efficacy of doses in children. He had previously said that the Food and Drug Administration could allow vaccination of American children “by the time we get to the end of spring and the beginning of summer.”

So far, except for a handful of mistakes, the national vaccine rollout did not include children.

Based on initial research submitted by Pfizer, the FDA approved use of this vaccine for recipients 16 years of age and older. The photos of Moderna are allowed for 18 years and over.

Now, Fauci said in the interview, “We are starting clinical trials in what we call age de-escalation, where you do a clinical trial with people 16 to 12 and then 12. at 9 years old, then from 9 to 6 years old. “

Earlier this year, federal authorities encouraged families to participate in clinical trials started by drugmakers for younger subjects, which will start with adolescents and then expand later to include young children.

“It is really very important for all of us, for the entire American population, to realize that we can only have this indication if adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 decide to participate,” Dr Moncef Slaoui, responsible for the effort to vaccination of the Trump administration, said at a press conference in January.

Spokesmen for the two vaccine developers have confirmed to CBS News the estimated timelines for their trials in adolescents, which were first reported by ProPublica. Pfizer expects dose data for 12 to 15 year olds by “early 2021”, while Moderna says data for 12 to 17 year olds will be available “around the middle of this year. ‘year 2021’.

Fauci’s comments come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to release new guidelines on Friday for safer reopening of K-12 schools.

The CDC’s guidelines for schools should echo many of the mitigation recommendations already made by the agency, such as ensuring that teachers and students wear masks, maintain a good social distance and practice good “hand hygiene”. Guidelines for implementing a robust contact tracing, isolation and quarantine program should also be included.

The CDC cited research conducted in classrooms that may have reopened or remained open during the pandemic last year with a few cases of COVID-19 and most students reported wearing masks.

Although public health experts have said vaccines are not needed to run in-person classes, the CDC acknowledged last week that vaccinations could help schools resume some of the school activities – like indoor sports. or competitions – which have been linked to epidemics.

Children are generally considered to be at less risk of COVID-19 than adults, but they can still catch it and pass it on to others. Many children have only mild symptoms or not at all, but some are seriously ill or have developed long-term health problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that there have been more than 2.9 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in children and at least 227 deaths.

“With 2 vaccines now distributed under emergency use authorizations and more vaccine options expected to be available in the coming months, there is a lot of hope on the horizon,” senior officials wrote. CDC last month.

The agency has already updated several other parts of its COVID-19 guidance this week, including a recommendation on Wednesday to wear a cloth mask over a disposable mask and now allowing some fully vaccinated Americans to skip the requirements of quarantine.