COVID-19 has killed more than 5 million people around the world, with more than 740,000 dead in the United States. Although the virus is far more deadly in older people than in children, more than 650 kids have died of COVID-19 in the United States. Meanwhile, during the surge caused by the delta variant, hospitalizations of children increased fivefold. Some 90% of the 12- to 17-year-olds hospitalized for the illness? were unvaccinated, and none of the hospitalized children under age 12 were vaccinated because they were not eligible. Until now. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention have authorized emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Infectious diseases specialist Jason Newland, MD, a professor of pediatrics, called the authorization a "ginormous" development in the fight against COVID-19. Newland has been involved in the vaccine trials in younger patients, and he says that as more young children are able to be vaccinated, fewer and fewer will require hospitalization. And he says better protection for kids also will provide better protection for the adults with whom they live.
The podcast, "Show Me the Science," is produced by the Office of Medical Public Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
