COVID-19 vaccine and kids: What parents of 12- to 15-year-olds need to know
On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) endorsed Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, paving the way for kids of this age group to get vaccinated against the virus. The news comes on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration expanding emergency-use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine to kids as young as 12. The vaccine was previously accessible only for people ages 16 and up.
"Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement on Friday. "With science guiding our evaluation and decision-making process, the FDA can assure the public and medical community that the available data meet our rigorous standards to support the emergency use of this vaccine in the adolescent population 12 years of age and older."
Even if you've been vaccinated, it's understandable to have questions about what, exactly, this news means for your child — and how to even go about getting them vaccinated in the first place. Here's what you need to know.
How soon can I sign up my child for a vaccine?
It depends on your state, but many are allowing parents to sign up their children for vaccination right now, infectious disease expert Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Yahoo Life. The ACIP's endorsement was the final hurdle.
"The data are very strong, and most people anticipated the ACIP would say yes," Dr. John Schreiber, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. "After that, the games can begin," Dr. John Sellick, an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo/SUNY, tells Yahoo Life.
Do I need to sign off parental permission so that my child can be vaccinated?
Again, it depends on your state. Some states, like North Carolina, allow kids to bypass parental consent to get vaccinated, but that's not the case everywhere. "My institution says that a parent has to be present with the child," Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. "Others are going to clarify if there is a need for permission and whether a parent or guardian needs to actually bring the child to the vaccination site." (He recommends checking with your vaccination center in advance, just to be sure.)
What did the Pfizer trial show for kids 12-15?
The trial included 2,260 participants, ages 12 through 15. Of those, 1,131 received the vaccine, and 1,129 received a saline (saltwater) placebo injection. More than half of the participants were then followed for safety for at least two months after their second dose, according to the FDA.
The results were perfect: There were no cases of COVID-19 in those who received the vaccine, making it 100 percent effective at preventing COVID-19. However, 16 study participants who received the placebo contracted the virus.
What are the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine in kids?
Side effects were similar to those in adults. The most common ones include:
pain at the injection site
tiredness
headache
chills
muscle pain
fever
joint pain
Side effects usually lasted between one and three days, the FDA says.
What do experts think of the results in trials?
Experts applaud the trial results. "The results are wonderful. I'm smiling ear to ear," Schaffner says, while Schreiber calls the results "stunning" and "quite remarkable."
Adalja also points out that "this vaccine seems to work even better in this age group than it does in adults," adding, "the efficacy in children is as high as it possibly can be."
How could this affect summer plans?
"These results could ease the tension in summer camps and all kinds of summer activities, including some travel," Schaffner says. But people have to actually get their children vaccinated first, Sellick says, and it's not clear at this point how many will do that. "I hope that most parents will jump on this right away," he says. "Getting this group vaccinated is a good deal all the way around."
How might this affect school in the fall for children?
If a large portion of 12- to 15-year-olds get vaccinated, it's "going to have a terrifically positive impact on schools, at least for middle school and up," Schreiber says. "It will help us move back to a more normal school environment — athletics and activities could resume in a much more robust way," he says.
How soon might the next age group of children be eligible for the vaccine?
There are currently several clinical trials in the works for children as young as 6 months, and there are different predictions on when results will be available. "We first thought it would be toward the end of summer, but it might be more into the fall now," Schaffner says. "Apparently it’s taking a little longer to recruit younger children into the trials." Still, Adalja says, trial results will "probably come in closer to the end of 2021" with an emergency-use authorization for this vaccine toward the beginning of 2022.
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