Parents waiting for COVID vaccines for their kids under 5 may be in the homestretch, experts say. But when will the shots be ready? Despite speculation from prominent health leaders, there is still no set date for when parents can expect their youngest kids to finally be vaccinated against the virus, and many people are tired of waiting.
On January 19, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci caught parents’ attention when he expressed hope to reporters that vaccines for kids under 5 could be authorized “within the next month.” A few days later, Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, shared his estimate that the vaccines might be available in “late March.” Things feel a little more hopeful today, however, as vaccine maker Pfizer-BioNTech, has submitted their clinical trial data to the FDA for emergency use authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine in children 6 months through 4 years.
The lack of a specific timeline is causing frustration for parents and some medical professionals as cases of the omicron variant continue to surge among kids. Between January 13 and January 20, more than 1.1 million new pediatric COVID cases were reported, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Concern over the number of child COVID cases is so great that 250 physicians signed a letter to the FDA demanding “urgent vaccine access” for children under 5.
“With over 1,000 children under age 18 in the US dead from COVID-19 and thousands suffering from serious complications such as MIS-C, the situation could not be more dire,” the letter says. “Moreover, we are now learning that Omicron hits babies and young children harder in their upper respiratory tract than previous variants, causing croup and bronchiolitis. This is of particular concern for the very age group that either cannot wear masks or has the most challenge wearing masks. We cannot let an entire generation of children suffer when we have a safe and effective method of protection.”
In December, Pfizer-BioNTech announced that the company’s initial vaccine trial for kids under 5 was unsuccessful after the tested dose failed to produce an adequate immune response in kids aged 2-5. The company has since started evaluating a three-dose series for kids in this age group, but the delay is pushing some worried parents to their breaking points.
“Why not expedite some form of access of vaccines for kids under 5? Our options are isolate them or they get infected,” one parent writes on Twitter in response to a post by the U.S surgeon general. “Help us!!”
“My 6-year-old has missed zero days of school in 2022 (knock on wood); my 3-year-old has missed 12,” another parent writes. “Want to know the difference? One is vaccinated and one is not. Approve vaccines for kids under 5.”
Children under 5 remain the only group in the U.S. who does not currently have access to a COVID vaccine. Children under age 2 are in a particularly vulnerable position since the CDC has also advised that kids in this age group shouldn’t wear masks to avoid a suffocation hazard. That means they are left without two potential tools for protection against the virus.
Children still account for a smaller percentage of severe COVID infections than adults do; however, hospitalization rates for kids have increased during the omicron wave. Among states reporting, children 17 and under now make up 1.7%-4.4% of COVID hospitalizations, and an average of 815 kids are being hospitalized daily. Some kids are also at risk for complications like Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) and long COVID symptoms. For many parents trying to manage these risks, hold down jobs and keep their kids in school or day care, vaccines for kids under 5 simply can’t come soon enough.
