Children as Young as 12 Eligible for COVID Vaccine

 https://www.nytimes.com/article/kids-covid-vaccine.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/600-000-children-ages-12-15-have-received-their-first-n1267795

This May, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12-17 year olds, which had been authorized for emergency use for 16-17 year olds since December 2020. As of May 18th, more than 600,000 children ages 12-15 received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, with the age group in the US totaling to more than 17 million individuals. Both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are also conducting studies on this age group. 

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 3.9 million cases of COVID have been reported among children, which is about 14% of the total COVID cases in the US. Although younger patients are less likely to show severe symptoms, 308 children have died because of COVID-19, and thousands more have developed a multi-system inflammatory syndrome known as MISC. 

Despite lower death rates, children and teens are still at risk for COVID and need to be protected. Increase vaccine availability and increased vaccination rates among younger Americans increases the safety of institutions such as schools, and allows for a more likely return to normal life in the near future. 

In my opinion, the authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for younger age groups is good for combating vaccine hesitancy, as it allows the vaccine to be seen as more trustworthy to hesitant parents and adults thinking about whether to get their own shots. As more COVID vaccines become available for broader age groups, it would be interesting to see whether the overall vaccination rates in the US increase as well. Either way, these authorizations provide a hopeful light after a long period of trial and tribulation.

Discussion questions:

- How do you think the recent Pfizer authorization for younger age groups has affected school districts and other education systems?

- What other methods could be used to combat vaccine hesitancy?