Children could be able to be vaccinated before too long

Successfully combating the coronavirus will likely mean inoculating children in the U.S. It’s estimated that we need to vaccinate between 70% and 90% of the population in order to reach herd immunity, and people under 18 make up about 22% of the population.

Unfortunately, the current slate of COVID-19 vaccines aren’t approved for use on children. Only adults can receive the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is approved for people 16 and up.

Fortunately, vaccine trials on younger people are underway. Both Pfizer and Moderna expect to have data on the vaccines’ effects on children 12 and older sometime this summer.

The question has to do with how differently young people may react to the vaccine. Already, data shows children respond to COVID-19 differently from adults.

“Children are not just small adults,” said pediatrician Dr. James Campbell of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in an interview with the AP. “The younger you get, the higher the odds are that things could be different.”

You can read more here.